OF CAN. ABA 




Class T It ) in 6 
Book i_I 



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COrVRiGliT DEPOSIT. 



Sergeant 331 




THE AUTHOR. 



Sergeant 331 



Personal Recollections 

of a Member of the 

Canadian Northwest Mounted Police 
from 1879-1885 



By 

F. J. E. FITZPATRICK 



NEW YORK 

Published by the Author 

1921 



Copyright, 1921, by F. J. E. Fiiziiatrick. All rights reserved. 



DEDICATED 

By Sergeant F. J. E. Fitzpatrick, 
N. W. M. P., 

to his daughter, 

Sergeant Azilda M. L. Fitzpatrick, 
Motor Corps of America 



SEP • I ij^j 

©CI.A622619 



INDEX 

Abbott (Sergt.-]\Iajor) 6 

Adam (Francois) 22 

"Antelope" 49 

Asprey (Constable) 108 

Battleford 28, 29, 76 

Benton (Fort) 15, 16, 18, 29 

Big Salt Plain 59, 92 

Blackfeet Indians 77, 123 

Bliss (Sergt.) 52, 53, 68 

Bradley (Sergt.-Major) 114, 124 

Breeden (Sergt.) 124 

Brinner (Constable) 108 

Broad View (C. P. R. Station) 110 

Buford (Fort) 12 

Calgary 76, 77 

"Cataract" (horse) 69 

"Chester" (horse) 115 

Clarke (Capt.) 3 

Cotton (Capt.) 5, 6, 46, 48, 57, 113, 114, 124 

Cree Indians 34, 73 

Crowfoot Crossing 77 

Crow's Nest Pass 119 

Crozier (Maj .) 43 

Custer (Gen.) 1 

Cypress Hills 16, 26, 57 

"Dandy" (horse) 5 

Davin (Nicholas Flood) 107 

Dorion 43 

Duchesnay (Capt.) 59, 87, HI 

Duck Lake 123 

East End Post 46, 52, 122 

Ellice (Fort) 62, 65, 72, 73, 76, 99 

File Hills 79, 84, 85, 88 

Gault 119 

Geneva 56 

Grayburn 39, 40, 42, 101 

Griesbach (Inspector) 69 



Haines 102 

"Head of the Mountain" 25, 26 

Healy (SherifF) 15, 16 

Herchmer (Col. Wm.) 76, 78, 106, 108, 109 

Holmes (Dr.) 101, 103 

"Hotel Outside" 57 

Houle (Constable) 41 

Irving (Col.) 113 

Isbister 88, 92 

Johnson (Indian) 105 

Johnson (Sergt.) 99 

Jones (Bobby) 125 

Kennedy (Dr. and Mrs.) 114, 118 

Lamac (Tom) 65 

Lambert 47, 48, 54 

Leader (Jack) 79 

Leveille (guide) 17 

"Little Child" (Chief) 75 

Lome (Marquis of) 76, 78, 79 

"Loud Voice" (Indian) 77 

Mac Donald (Sir John A.) S, 100 

Maekey (Bob) 88, 91 

Maple Creek 6l 

Martin (ReiDresentative) 101 

McConnell 80 

McCormick 65 

McLeod (Col.) 3, 27, 40 

McLeod (Fort), 

27, 28, 29, 76, 101, 113, 114, 115, 117, 120, 123 

Medicine Hat 61 

Milk River 19, 57 

Moffatt (Constable) 72, 73 

Moose Jaw 6l, 110 

Moose Mountain 93 

O'Connor (Sergt.) 1 16 

Old Man's River 28, 115, 119 

Parker 57 

Pasquas (Chief) 65 



Paton 125 

Pearcy (Sergt.) 113 

Pennock 121 

Perry (Inspector and Mrs. A. Bowen) 118, 120, 124 

Pile-of-Bones Creek 104 

Potts (Jerry) 39, 77, 78 

Prince Albert 76 

Qu'Appelle (Fort) ... .57, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 68, 76, 79, 86, 
92, 93, 96, 98, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104 

Qu'AiDpelle Lakes 80 

Qu'Appelle Station (C. P. R.) 105 

Qu'Appelle Valley 69, 87, 88, 99 

Red Jacket 70 

Regina 61, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108 

Regina "Leader" 107 

Richardson (Col.) 68, 98, 106 

Ross 69, 99 

Ryan (Corp.) 68 

Shaw (Fort) 76 

Shields 112 

Shoal Lake 62 

Sitting Bull 1, 38, 46, 49, 66, 67 

Spicer (Sergt.) 1 16 

Star Blanket (Indian) 90 

Steele (Inspector) 14, 57, 65, 86, 87, 88, 89, 93, 94, 99, 

101, 102, 113, 114 

Stony ISIountain (penitentiary) 26 

Sun Dance ... 34-38 

Touchwood Hills 63, 79, 90, 91, 92 

Treaty Money Day 71 

Walsh (Fort) 17, 19, 21, 23, 29, 31, 32, 40, 43, 46, 50^ 

51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 62, 101 

Walsh (Maj.) 52, 53, 66, 68, 69, 70, 112 

"Warwick" (horse) 48 

Waskanna 104 

"Whitecap" (horse) 69 

White Mud River 67 

Wolsey 99 

Wood Mountain 29, 52, 66 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

Fitzpatrick (Sergt. F. J. E., 1885) Cover Panel 

Portrait of the Author Frontispiece 

Map (Northwest Territories_, Canada) 

Preceding the Introduction 

Opposite Page 

Blood Indians (Blackfoot Tribe) ii 

Cree Indians and Cree Half-Breed 21 

KA-A-RO-TON (Blackfoot Indian) 36 

Northwest Mounted Police (Divisions "B" and "F," 
Fort Walsh, 1880) 53 

Benton (Mont.) Bull and Mule Trains, 1880 68 

Fort Qu'Appelle, Sask., 1881 73 

Fort Walsh, Cypress Hills, 1875-1881 85 

Northwest Mounted Police (Post near Banff, 1884) 80 

Cree Indian Camp near Medicine Hat, 1882 100 

Northwest Mounted Police (Officers at Ft. Walsh, 1880) .105 

Commanding Officer's Quarters, Ft. McLeod, 1884 112 




NORTHWEST TERI 



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)RIES, CANADA. 



INTRODUCTION 



SERGEANT 331 was a member of the Northwest 
Mounted Police, from 1879-1885; that is, until after 
the second Riel rebellion in the Northwest Territories 
of Canada, which have since been partitioned into the prov- 
inces of Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Yukon, still leaving 
a part known as the Northwest Territory. 

The duty of the force was to open up that immense, un- 
known land to civilization, bringing into it the proper and im- 
partial enforcement of all civil and criminal laws. The force, 
a civil one, was nevertheless under strict military training 
and discipline, uniformed and armed. It was composed of a 
commissioner, superintendents, inspectors and sub-inspectors, 
who were commissioned officers; of sergeants and corporals, 
who were non-commissioned officers, and of constables. These 
composed the active force. The finances and matters of 
supplies were left to the supervision of a civilian official re- 
siding in Ottawa, and holding office under the Department 
of the Interior, who was known as the comptroller. 

The author, in drafting the following pages, has attempted 
to give a plain narrative of the daily, intimate life of a mem- 
ber of this force, supplying therein a long-felt want among 
many of his friends, and the general public, interested in the 
events which have helped to transform a vast expanse of 
land, utilized until then only as a fur-producing country for 



Sergeant 331 

the Hudson's Bay Company, into an agricultural country, 
with resources of such proportion that it could feed the 
greater part of the world. Numerous tribes of wild and 
nomadic Indians constantly traveled its plains in search of 
game_, which was in abundance almost everywhere. There 
were also in this land several thousand half-breeds of either 
Scotch or French origin, the ancestry of the first named going 
back to former employees of the Hudson's Bay Company, and 
of the latter to former French voyageurs or hunters and trap- 
pers. The white population was very scant. 

The mounted police force numbered approximately three 
hundred, and had the supervision of a territory, limited as to 
their activities, of about one thousand miles square. In later 
years, when the immense territory of the Yukon became the 
Mecca of the gold hunters who flocked to that far-away re- 
gion by the thousands, this force was increased to about nine 
hundred. 

No attempt has been made by the author to weave any 
romance, or to introduce any fiction into this work;. he has 
relied entirely upon the recital of plain, everyday facts to 
interest his readers. He trusts that he may have been able 
to do this. That alone will be sufficient reward for his labor. 

The Author. 




Ui.iioi) Indians ( Hi.ackiooi' 'I'mm:). 

A scjiKiu ill tlu- centre. Tlie Inilinn on the left, 
as tlie reader sees the })ieture, was aeciised of 
the miir(U'r of a miiiiher of the X. AV. -M. Police, 
hut was ac(|uitte(l of tlie charue at Fort Mcl.cod. 



Sergeant 331 



CHAPTER I 

IT was in the late seventies, when Sitting Bull, 
the head soldier of the Sioux Nation — and not 
the Chief, as often called — having had his 
serious troubles on the American side, and fearing 
the personal punisliment which he imagined was 
to be meted out to him for his recent massacre of 
General Custer's contingent, had, shortly before, 
wisely or otherwise, crossed the forty-ninth 
parallel to seek security in Canada, the country of 
his ancestors. 

Canadian authorities, however, who were just 
then preparing to throw open to civilization the 
entire region of the Northwest Territories, did 
not view with favor the intrusion of their Southern 
visitor, having serious doubts as to his peaceful 
intentions, and being rather inclined to believe 
that the day was not far distant when Canadian 



2 Sergeant 331 



forces would have to cross lances with this wily 
redskin. Such was the general opinion, as given 
out by the Eastern press to the public. 

I was at that time only eighteen years of age, 
residing in Montreal, and I had been for some 
time a member of the 65th Mount Royal Rifles, a 
militia regiment of that place. Visions of battles 
with Indians, the great dream of most boys of 
today as well as of other days, awakened in me an 
inward call which I did not try very hard to resist. 
The field of adventure which lay before me, in the 
wonderful and trackless, great, lone land, finally 
brought me to my decision. If possible, I must 
join the Northwest Mounted Police. 

This was not an easy task, for only seventy-six 
vacancies were to be filled that year — the sixth 
of its existence — and there were over seventeen 
hundred applicants. The entire force numbered 
but three hundred men. Each member of the 
Canadian Parliament was privileged to indicate 
two or three applicants from his own section, as 
candidates. After numerous steps on my part, 
taken in this and that direction, I found myself 
among the fortunate ones, and received a sum- 
mons to appear before the medical examiner at 
the Hotel Windsor, in Montreal, for a physical 
inspection. 

At the proper time, with five others of the lo- 
cality, I presented myself. To my dismay, how- 
ever, I was informed, shortly after being ex- 
amined, that I was rejected, owing to the fact 



Sergeant 331 



that, according to the standard regulations, I 
lacked — by half an inch — the required chest meas- 
urements. All applicants had toi be, first of all, 
of excellent character; between eighteen and 
thirty-five years of age; absolutely sound physi- 
cally; weighing not more than 160 pounds; not 
less than 5 feet 7 inches in height, and at least 34 
inches in chest measurement. 

Captain Clarke — who, I believe, was a nephew 
of Sir John A. MacDonald, the Premier of Cana- 
da — was then acting as Adjutant to the Commis- 
sioner of the Mounted Police Force, and of him 
I requested an interview with the Commissioner, 
Colonel McLeod. This request he seemed re- 
luctant to grant. As I was not yet a member of 
the force, however, and therefore not subject to 
its strict regulations, I intimated to Captain 
Clarke that I would secure the necessary inter- 
view without his help. This brought about the de- 
sired result. I was ushered into the Commis- 
sioner's room, where I found mj^self facing 
Colonel McLeod, a man of magnificent stature, 
commanding in appearance, with keen and search- 
ing eyes, denoting seriousness and strength of 
purpose. Thei Colonel wore a full beard, slightly 
parted in the center, and a large moustache with 
long, curling ends. I indulge in a description of 
his moustache because I learned in later days that 
when members of the force were brought before 
the Commissioner under charges he had a habit of 
twisting the ends of his moustache while the evi- 



4 Sergeant 331 

dence was being taken ; and generally the severity 
or length of a sentence could be anticipated by the 
number of twists the Colonel had given his facial 
ornament. 

But I am digressing. The Colonel asked the 
object of my call. I informed him that I wanted 
to inquire if the half-inch deficiency in my chest 
measurement was the only reason I had been re- 
jected. He replied that the half -inch was not in 
itself the only reason ; that it might, however, indi- 
cate a lack of physical strength, and this quality 
was very much required to withstand the hardships 
to be faced in the Mounted Police. 

He then proceeded to bring before my eyes a 
mental picture of the most trying life — the ex- 
treme cold of the Winter and the torrid heat of the 
plains in the Summer ; the absence of food, and the 
scarcity of water for days at a time; the unruly 
bronchos to be mastered and the treacherous Indi- 
ans to be dealt with. At the end of his recital he 
fully believed, I have no doubt, that he had ended 
for all time my desire for a career in the Mounted. 
I rather surprised him by asking how many men 
of the force had died of the hardships since the 
force was organized — namely, in 1873. He was 
forced to admit that, up to that time, none had. 
Then I said: "Does your force go through exten- 
sion motions, or setting-up exercises?" "Oh, yes," 
he said, "everybody but the cook undergoes that 
in the Spring.'" "Then, if that is the case," I 
replied, "I shall be over measurement after one 



Sergeant 331 5 

setting-up, and as to the hardships I will readily 
take my chances." 

A broad smile came over his face. He had put 
me to a test and found me not wanting. He said : 
"All right, young man, I shall see that you get on." 
And I did. I believed him — and found, later, that 
no one had ever had reason to mistrust his word. 
However, at that time I thought simply of the 
"slip 'twixt the cup and the lip," and made doubly 
sure of my acceptance through other channels of 
influence. 

A couple of months later several applicants and 
myself received orders to report at the Old Fort 
in Toronto, where we were to undergo some ele- 
mentary drilling before leaving for the West. We 
were also to take charge of some seventy-five East- 
ern horses which were to be tried in the service for 
comparison with the Western bronchos. 

I shall never forget my experience with one of 
these. 

Captain Cotton, one of our officers, had a thor- 
oughbred called Dandy, which he intended for his 
personal use. One Saturday night he rode Dandy 
to the city and left him at a livery stable, intending 
to ride him back to the Fort after the theatre. 
Owing, however, to the very nasty and stubborn 
disposition of the animal, Captain Cotton was 
utterly unable to get Dandy to the Fort that night, 
and so left him where he was. The next morning, 
to my great astonislmient — which I tried my best 
not to betray — I received through Sergeant- 



6 Sergeant 331 

Major Abbott a written order from Captain Cot- 
ton to go and get his horse. 

I had never ridden before, but "mmn was the 
word" so far as I was concerned. I departed for 
Toronto, a distance of two to three miles, secured 
the animal, and after being helped into the sad- 
dle started on my return. Troubles galore of all 
descriptions followed, but still I managed to re- 
main in the saddle until, when about one mile from 
the Fort, the horse, as a culmination of all my 
miseries, suddenly took the bit in his teeth, and at 
full speed carried me straight into the barracks 
square, stopping suddenly in front of the entire 
contingent, which was in parade formation. Not 
knowing of all my mishaps on the road, and hav- 
ing witnessed only my arrival, which might have 
been my finish as well, I was declared a splendid 
horseman. Only two or three days later I learned, 
with amusement, that the order I had received had 
never been intended for me, but for my namesake, 
a six-footer, and an excellent rider of some repute. 
T had stolen his laurels unintentionally, but I was 
well punished for it in the aftermath, for many an 
ugly broncho or horse with runaway proclivities 
fell to my lot, all owing to my false reputation as 
an able rider. I must confess, however, that, after 
all, it helped me eventually in becoming a horse- 
man of fair merit. 



CHAPTER II 

AFTER a stay of about three weeks we left 
Toronto, via Sarnia, for Duluth, on our 
way to the West. On the short trip to 
Sarnia we were feted and given send-offs at every 
eating place along the railroad; girls kissing us 
good-bye and the crowds shouting hurrahs. In re- 
turn we kept singing such songs as befitted the 
occasion, among others "The Girl I Left Behind 
Me." At Sarnia we boarded one of the Great 
Lakes boats, and were soon on the magnificent 
Lake Superior, that greatest of inland seas. 
Through the first night we experienced one of the 
worst storms of the season, but the next days were 
admirable, and we enjoyed the beauties of the trip 
to their full extent. 

On the fourth day we arrived at Duluth, a 
charming city lying like an amphitheatre in the far 
southwest corner of the lake. Here we entrained 
for Bismark, Dakota, which at that time was the 
Western terminus of the Northern Pacific Rail- 
road, arriving there at about 10 P. M. This place 



Sergeant 331 



was in utter darkness, and the mud in the streets 
was fully two feet deep. We had to detrain our 
horses and lead them some two miles down the 
Missouri River to board a flat-bottomed boat, the 
Red Cloud, one of the liners of the river. Our 
extreme weariness and the absolutely inky night, 
combined with the two-mile walk in the deep mud, 
made a combination which easily let all the charms 
of our departure ooze out of our shoes. We were 
beginning to get accustomed to the duties of 
Northwest Mounted Policemen. 

We left Bismark the following morning for a 
journey of fourteen days, to cover a distance of 
1,200 miles to Benton, Montana, the terminus of 
Missouri navigation. The trip might have been 
tedious and tiresome but for the various incidents 
which occurred en route and the interesting scen- 
ery on this immense river. I have a very vivid 
recollection of the river view of the "bad lands of 
the Missouri," with their wonderful rock forma- 
tions, which to all intents and purposes resemble 
old cathedrals, castles and fortresses in ruins, 
pierced here and there with apertures like great 
windows; and on top of all these, at an altitude 
of a thousand feet or more, some apparently per- 
fectly contented Rocky Mountain goats or sheep, 
browsing on mosses, etc. How these animals could 
ever reach those seemingly inaccessible heights is 
beyond my calculation. 

There were great herds of antelope running 
wild in the distance, beavers in vast number, and 



Sergeant 331 9 

now and then a stray buffalo crossing the river in 
front or to the rear of our boat. At other times a 
small, scattered group of these magnificent ani- 
mals cantered away from the vicinity, startled per- 
haps by the shriek of the boat's whistle. That tre- 
mendous tract of land appeared to be the hunts- 
man's paradise — seemingly, because the hunter 
rarely visited it. Wild game, big and small, 
seemed to exist everywhere. 

Every three or four days stops were made to 
allow us to debark our horses and give them some 
very much needed exercise on the prairie. Owing 
to my ill-gotten reputation as a horseman, a vicious 
black stallion was my share of the lot, and riding 
such a beast bareback on the prairie was not the 
most pleasant part of my trip, I can assure you. 

At the junction of the Missouri and Yellow- 
stone Rivers small rapids exist, which caused us 
a delay of some hours, the boat having to overcome 
the rapids by a cable fastened to what is known 
as a "dead man." This consists of a strong beam 
laid in a shallow trench, at right angles to which 
a narrow opening allows the necessary cable to be 
passed through, which in turn is gradually wound 
up by a windlass on the boat, thus shortening the 
distance between the boat and the "dead man," 
and eventually bringing the craft above the rapids. 

A number of our men, taking advantage of this 
spare time, landed and ascended the nearest peak, 
the old captain of the boat having agreed to recall 
them at the proper time by means of the boat's 



10 Sergeant 331 



whistle. At the summit, or a few hundred feet in 
height, the view was most interesting, revealing to 
us innumerable pinnacles resembling sugar loaves. 
With the eye one could follow, on a continuous 
crest of ridges called "hogs' backs," the well-worn 
trail of former prairie schooners or mail coaches 
such as the famous Deadwood Coach, which in 
later years was exhibited in "Buffalo Bill's" shows 
of the West. This trail was, in the earlier days, 
followed by mail and supply wagons, with either 
prospectors or supplies going to the Black Hills — 
that land formerly the hunting ground of the 
Sioux Indians, and the possession of which, later 
on, caused many clashes between the redskins and 
the warriors of Uncle Sam, culminating with the 
famous Custer massacre. 

The delay caused by the rapids was not, how- 
ever, the only one of the trip. The muddy, shift- 
ing bottom of the Missouri — which is extremely 
shallow in a great many places — was constantly 
sounded by some deck hand, who stood for that 
purpose, almost day and night, at the prow of the 
boat, the result of his observation, either by pole 
or lead, being announced loudly and in the most 
mournful tone to the pilot: "Four feet," or "five 
feet," or "three and a half feet," and so on — 
with an occasional "three feet scant" — when the 
boat would come to a stop, and the next announce- 
ment would be "going back," meaning that the 
boat's course had been reversed and she was actu- 
ally going backward, and would try again some 



Sergeant 331 11 

other channel. In some cases, derricks at the front 
of the boat would have their lower ends sunk in 
the mud, the boat put at full speed, and, thus 
lifted, would pass partly over some sand bar. The 
derricks were then sunk to the rear, and again the 
boat sent at full speed ahead, thus practically 
walking over the obstacle. 

These everlasting, monotonous calls, combined 
with the oft-repeated information that we were 
going backward, when all of us were more than 
anxious to arrive at our destination, almost drove 
some of the men to the verge of a nervous break-- 
down. We figured that the backward process had 
added to the distance of the trip almost one-quar- 
ter in the aggregate. 



CHAPTER III 

WHEN passing Fort Buford, where we 
made a short stop, we beheld for the first 
tinie, on the high banks of the river, 300 
or 400 Sioux Indians, in all the glory of their wild- 
life accoutrements — the younger generation wear- 
ing their birthday clothes and the adults dark blue 
or red blankets, most of them having bead applica- 
tions. Some of the men had on breech cloths only 
and wore eagle feathers in their hair, but all of 
them had their faces covered with the brightest 
vermilion, with an occasional touch of yellow 
ochre or green, showing a diversity of artistic 
taste. 

I must confess that the sight of these Indians, 
who seemed to my mind like a lot of baboons, made 
me realize for the first time on our trip that we 
were a long, long way from home — or, as the New 
Yorker would be more likely to say, "a long dis- 
tance from Broadway." I had, nevertheless, an 
immense mental satisfaction in feeling that at last 
I was in the land of mystery. I was on the brink 

12 



Sergeant 331 13 

of adventures among those heroes of James Feni- 
more Cooper — adventures I had never experi- 
enced before except in imagination or in print. I 
felt absolutely happy that my boyhood dreams had 
at last come true, and this first impression is one 
of the most vivid and one of the happiest of all my 
life in the West. 

Shortly after this a little unpleasant incident of 
the trip occurred, in which one of our members, 
who later was commissioned an Inspector of the 
force, got into an altercation with one of the negro 
waiters aboard. This caused a rather rancorous 
feeling among the other waiters, who numbered 
about twenty, and to even up matters they secretly 
decided upon revenge on all of our party. They 
accomplished it through the drugging of our cof- 
fee, which they served to us daily, with the conse- 
quence that we became a very busy contingent for 
a day or so. This, however, obviated the necessity 
of our visiting any of the famous resorts for our 
health, and may, after all, have been a blessing in 
disguise, for a great many of the men were indis- 
posed owing to the continuous use of the water of 
the Missouri for drinking purposes. This water 
was nothing but a liquid mud, which we could taste 
in our coffee, tea, soup, or any other liquid food. 
The chalky taste and flavor never left our palate ; 
it stuck to us like a poor relation. 

We, in turn, decided to square things with the 
self-appoiiited dusky doctor who had been the 
original cause of this peck of trouble, by making a 



14 Sergeant 331 



concerted demand upon the captain that this par- 
ticular colored gentleman be run ashore at once. 
Our demand was timed for about 10 P. M., and 
in accordance therewith our friend was given the 
plank ashore, with a supply of hardtack and other 
nutritious provender, to lead the easy life on the 
lonesome banks of the Missouri for about a week, 
when the boat would pick him up on its return 
trip. 

On the fourteenth day from Bismark we passed 
through the Coal Banks, about four or five miles 
in a straight line from Benton, but a much longer 
distance by the river course. It was at this place 
that I first met Inspector Steele, wearing the scar- 
let uniform of the Northwest Mounted Police of 
Canada, an officer of magnificent physique, 
mounted on a steed worthy of the rider in appear- 
ance, the whole forming a most picturesque and 
fascinating picture, outlined as it was on the high 
banks of the river and silhouetted against the clear 
blue sky of the West. This officer, with whom I 
was destined to spend five years of my life in the 
police force, afterward became a world figure. 
He commanded the "Strathcona Horse," the Ca- 
nadian contingent in the Boer war, then a division 
of the African Mounted Police. Later he com- 
manded the Military District of Manitoba, and 
finally reached the rank of Major-General in the 
militia. In that capacity he was sent to England 
from Canada, to take charge of one of the military 
districts during the great World War. He died 



Sergeant 331 15 



in England in January, 1919, and his remains were 
put to rest with an elaborate military funeral, the 
King's personal representative being in attend- 
ance. This funeral was duplicated at a later date 
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to which place the body 
was transferred for final rest. He was a rigid 
disciplinarian, but a lovable and fearless com- 
mander, whom men would have followed any- 
where. He was a man without even the knowl- 
edge of fear, and his demise is regretted in the 
extreme by thousands of others as well as myself. 

The next day we finally arrived at the end of our 
river trip, Fort Benton, at that time the great 
distributing center for the entire extreme North- 
west. Bull trains and mule trains by the hundreds, 
loaded with all necessary supplies for the pioneer, 
were constantly plying through the streets, which 
at that particular season were nothing short of a 
sea of blue, greasy mud. 

The hundreds of cowboys and mule drivers or 
bull drivers made a rendezvous of Benton, and 
took most of their amusement out in gambling. 
There were about eighty places, with large wide- 
open double doors flush with the sidewalk, where 
ke-no or faro could be indulged in. Stacks of gold 
eagles or silver dollars were always in full sight. 
Trouble of any kind occurring in these places was 
generally ended abruptly by the appearance of 
Sheriff Healy, who was apparently the right man 
in the right place — a Western man to handle 
Western men in Western fashion. No frills or 



16 Sergeant 331 



technicalities ever stood much in the way. When 
the evil-doer was marched to the lock-up, the size 
of his fine was regulated by the amount of ready 
cash carried on his person. Thus a pocketbook of 
five dollars involved a fine of four dollars, while 
the possession of some hundreds of dollars would 
cause the fine to be about four-fifths of the entire 
amount. There was an alternate choice of work- 
ing out the fine at one dollar per day, v/ith a ball 
and chain fastened to the ankle, cleaning the 
streets of Benton, and with a guard, armed with a 
loaded carbine, placed in charge, as a reminder 
that no escape from one or the other alternative 
was possible. 

Considering the character of the floating popu- 
lation of Benton — prairie men, always fully 
armed, and with the double temptation of booze 
and gambling — it is extraordinary that such order 
should have prevailed. I believe the reason was 
that Healy showed clearly what law and order, 
backed by determination, will accomplish. 

We had arrived in Benton during the Spring 
rainy season, which averaged about six weeks in 
duration. The tremendous amount of mud caused 
by these rains had rendered the range of hills back 
of the town, which we were to cross on our way to 
the Cypress Hills in Canada, absolutely impass- 
able to horses with loaded wagons. We were com- 
pelled, therefore, to remain nine days at this place 
so as to allow the roads to become dry and practi- 
cal for our teams and saddle mounts. Inspector 



Sergeant 331 17 

Steele had arrived with an escort from Fort Walsh 
in the Cypress Hills, about 175 miles north of 
Benton, and brought with him a wagon load of 
saddles which we were to use on our Eastern 
horses. Unfortunately, though, he had not enough 
for all of us. 

The appropriate time having arrived, our cara- 
van, comprising several four-in-hand teams, quite 
a number of mounted men and some on foot (ow- 
ing to the lack of saddles ) , started for the Cana- 
dian border. Old Leveille, the French half-breed 
guide, was with us, driving his own buckboard, as 
a rule leading the caravan on the road, but always 
the last to leave camp, to make sure that all fires 
were put out. This old man, one of the best guides 
in the country, was always the essence of polite- 
ness, and I have noticed many times since that he 
has been mentioned as such in many magazine arti- 
cles referring to the Northwest Mounted Police. 

During this trip, when some of us had to "foot 
it" for a day at a time, we had an experience simi- 
lar to those which pioneers always relate with 
very vivid recollection. Such is mine of this occa- 
sion. The day was hot, and we had become ex- 
tremely thirsty ; this, in fact, had become our only 
thought. Our throats were parched and the dust 
was choking our nostrils. Suddenly we came in 
sight of a small pond or sheet of water, about one 
mile to our right. So eager were we to reach this 
spot that, of one accord, we started on the run. 
Imagine our chagrin and disappointment when we 



18 Sergeant 331 

found, instead of clear water, a sheet of black, oily- 
water, covered with a scum, the odor of which was 
sufficient to nauseate any one. But such is thirst 
that we attempted to drink some of the water by 
filtering it through our handkerchiefs, but the 
dose was impossible. 

Compelled to return to our path with our thirst 
unsatisfied, we felt the heat ten times worse. Trav- 
eling a few miles farther, we found that the wagon 
ruts of the trail had at one place caused so deep a 
cut that some rain water was still in evidence. 
Here, with 'kerchief filters, we managed to squeeze 
a few drops of the water, which we drank, relieving 
our throats temporarily, getting them at the same 
time well coated with chalky mud. I can say from 
my short experience that few will ever understand 
what must have been the suffering of those cou- 
rageous pioneers of the West who succumbed to 
the pangs of an unsatisfied thirst. 

Our trip from Benton, which at first took us up 
the hills north of the town, later brought us to the 
virgin prairie, undulating, apparently devoid of 
all landmarks save perhaps the Three Buttes or 
sweet-grass hills of Montana, from which were 
wafted pleasant perfimied breezes. 

The country before us resembled an immense 
sea of short grass, with a few cactuses here and 
there, and required, indeed, the service of an ex- 
pert guide. Now and then, in the absence of wind, 
a faint odor as of burnt leaves would come to us. 
Then, pointing to a distant spot, our half-breed 



Sergeant 331 19 

guide would say: "An Indian has recently passed 
there." The odor was caused through the whole 
equipment of the Indian having been impregnated 
with the fumes of Kinik Kinik, or Indian tobacco. 
This is the substance of the red willow, between 
the bark and the core, which is dried for smoking 
purposes, and mixed with certain leaves. 

We had with us quite a number of dogs, but lost 
a few of these through rattlesnakes when near the 
Milk River. 

On the last day of our trip we still had a distance 
of about ten miles to cover. My namesake, the 
famous rider, undertook to ride a mare which ap- 
parently could not withstand the surcingle of the 
saddle, and from the very start began kicking both 
hind feet into the air and plunging forward. This 
she kept up the entire distance, utterly exhausting 
herself in the effort, and on our arrival at Fort 
AValsh she lay down never to rise. 

An old team horse having been left behind, I 
attempted to ride it bareback from our last camp 
into Fort Walsh. The rough shaking up which 
I experienced caused me to be laid up in the hos- 
pital for a period of one week. I regretted this 
very much, as on this account I missed a most in- 
teresting sight. Some 400 or 500 Indians, with 
a view to welcoming the new contingent, had come 
to Fort Walsh in all their war paint and lack of 
clothing to give a thrilling demonstration of their 
horsemanship. This consisted of circling, swirl- 
ing, and intermingling at a terrific speed, and fir- 



20 Sergeant 331 



ing their guns, thus giving, with all the colors of 
the rainbow used in their ornamentation, a kaleido- 
scopic effect long to be remembered, as I was able 
to observe later, on other occasions. 




Clil'E IXDTANS AXI) CliKK HaLK-BrEED 

(on the left). From a photograph taken in 1884- 
near MediciTie Hat. 



CHAPTER IV 

WE had at last arrived at our final destina- 
tion, where the headquarters of the force 
were located. Fort Walsh was situ- 
ated in a valley about half a mile in width, through 
which a small river ran. The fort itself was quad- 
rangular, with a stockade of trees closely put to- 
gether, about twelve feet in height, with one bas- 
tion. Later this was enlarged by the addition of 
another, making two bastions, one on the south- 
east corner and one on the northwest corner. 

The length of each side of the fort was about 
three hundred feet. There was a large log gate at 
the front and one at the back, the front one having 
one small opening in it, just large enough to admit 
of one person passing through at a time. These 
gates were opened at reveille and closed at sun- 
down, the smaller opening remaining open until 
ten P. M. As no Indians were allowed inside the 
fort after sundown, the usual bugle note at that 
time had had words fittingly adapted to it by the 
Indians. Upon hearing the call, all Indians inside 

21 



22 Sergeant 331 



the fort would leave immediately, singing the 
words, "Kee-gally, Kee-gally," which, translated 
from the Sioux language, meant "Get out. Get 
out." 

Here, then, was the beginning of our life as 
constables of the Northwest Mounted Police ( and 
not the "Royal" — a prefix granted to them in 
later years for their gallantry and substantial 
services in the Boer War). 

The duties of the Mounted Police were some- 
what an unwritten law. They covered every 
phase of law, civil or criminal, of that of right 
and wrong, where authority was involved. Everj'^ 
commissioned officer and every member in charge 
of a post, in many cases a single constable, was 
ipso facto a justice of the peace. We acted as 
magistrates, sheriffs, constables, collectors of cus- 
toms, postmasters, undertakers, issuers of licen- 
ses. We married people and we buried people. 
We acted as health inspectors. Weather Bureau 
officials, Indian treaty makers; but above all, as 
diplomats, when it came to dealing with either 
Indians or half-breeds. This we did with com- 
mendable results, as is well summed up in the 
verdict which I heard expressed recently in New 
York, by one, a Belgian, Mr. Francois Adam, 
who was a magistrate for a great many years in 
the Northwest, and lived there for thirty-one 
years. "The finest thing Canada ever possessed," 
he said, "is the Royal Northwest Mounted Po- 
lice" — adding, "and I ought to know." 



Sergeant 331 23 



As a matter of fact, in the 46 years of its ex- 
istence, it has always been free from politics — 
always fearless in the execution of its duty; and, 
notwithstanding the necessarily unpleasant ex- 
periences with troublesome Indians, designing 
half-breeds, or law-breakers among the white 
population of those immense tracts of lands 
(known today as Saskatchewan, Alberta and The 
Yukon), no accusation of partiality or unfair 
treatment has been made, nor has any unfavor- 
able comment, even, been uttered against the 
force by anyone of responsibility. This is assur- 
edly a unique record for a force that has had 
within itself a power unparalleled for oppression 
if it had elected to use it. 

The men selected for this force numbered 
among them a lord, sons of lords, a son of a 
bishop, a great many sons of prominent gentle- 
men, and, as a superior officer stated once, "a 
great many sons of guns." He meant by that 
young men of a romantic turn of mind, looking 
for adventure, ready at all times for any emer- 
gency. 

Now let us come back to our daily life at Fort 
Walsh. Shortly after our arrival, our uniforms 
were issued to us; and do not think of scarlet 
tunics and gold stripes only, but rather of fatigue 
uniforms, in which we passed most of our time in 
our young life on the force. The routine of du- 
ties was reveille at 5:30 in summer and 6 A. INI. 
in winter; grooming and feeding and cleaning 



24 Sergeant 331 

our mounts; then breakfast. After this, fatigue, 
which meant work — and real manual work, too; 
for it was, in a great many cases, menial as well 
as manual. 

You must remember that, at the time whereof 
I speak, no white woman was in the country — at 
least, not in our neighborhood. I never saw one 
for three years. We had to rely on our own 
ability to make most of our clothes, to cook, bake, 
wash, sweep and do a hundred and one other 
kinds of work which usually falls to the lot of 
the woman of civilization. 

Building barracks, thatching roofs with straw 
and mud, was a special work which was very often 
reserved for the recruit or tenderfoot, and which 
had the tendency to extract the last particle of 
pampered feeling or daintiness from any molly- 
coddle, should one have found his way into our 
midst. More drill in the afternoon, riding school, 
training in the handling of weapons — including 
revolvers, swords, lances, carbines, and, in some 
selected cases, seven pounders and nine-pounders, 
field pieces, etc. — made supper at about 5:30 P. 
M. decidedly welcome. Daily guard was then 
mounted, looking to the safety of prisoners and 
the fort itself, which was closed partially at sun- 
down and completely at 10 P. M., at which time 
sentries would take their post outside as well as 
inside. 

From time to time Indians or half-breed couri- 
ers would bring in reports of Indian tribes com- 



Sergeant 331 25 

ing in a certain direction, while another tribe, 
enemy of the first, was travehng in a direction 
which would bring them into conflict. One of 
our duties was to head them off and compel them 
to change their course, thus avoiding a sanguinary 
conflict. Then, again, an Indian would report 
horses stolen from his camp ; and, during the night 
following, a party would probably emerge from 
the fort and proceed some 15 or 20 miles, to sur- 
prise and surround the offending Indians, whom 
we would keep within our power by circling 
around them with drawn revolvers until daylight, 
at which time we would be able to see more clear- 
ly and arrest the guilty ones. We would then 
take them back to the fort for trial, thus impress- 
ing in a wholesome way the entire tribe with the 
necessity of obeying the new laws of the land, 
which the red-coated force was there to enforce 
impartially on all — whites, half-breeds and In- 
dians being alike entitled to equal justice. Many 
a night excursion of this kind, and a great many 
others in the daji;ime, served to enliven the daily 
routine. 

The strict law of the territory against the 
possession of or traffic in intoxicants of any kind, 
especially with Indians, furnished us with many 
a lively encounter. One I remember especially, 
in which a noted character, who had resided for- 
merly in Montana, attempted the smuggling of 
whiskey. Having established himself at a place 
called "the Head of the Mountain," the upper- 



26 Sergeant 331 



most part of the Cypress Hills, he began to bar- 
ter his "fire water" with some of the Indians. 

He had no sooner begun operations than word 
of his doings was received at headquarters through 
the numerous scouts that the force had among 
the Indians and half-breeds. A plan for his cap- 
ture was immediately figured out, and a couple 
of our men in full scarlet uniform were sent out 
to proceed through the open highway, or rather 
trail, up "the Head of the Mountain." We knew 
beforehand, however, that their approach would 
be sufficient to warn the offender to decamp in a 
hurry, and take the shortest cut to the interna- 
tional boundary. This he did, but he had reck- 
oned without his host. At the furthermost end 
of the mountain, right at the foot, nestling quietly 
in a small ravine, was a party of swift riders, well 
armed and with the best mounts of the force, 
awaiting the signal of the look-outs to start at 
top speed after the prey — deploying in a semi- 
circle to race after him, awaiting a move of his 
gun to deliver a volley of shots around his ears. 
He did make an attempt of this sort when near- 
ing the border, but an immediate volley from our 
rifles put a quick end to his resistance. He threw 
his rifle to the ground and with hands up called 
out: "Boys, you have got me this time" — and we 
had him. 

A quick trial and a sentence of six years in the 
Stony Mountain penitentiary in Manitoba was 
the sequence, with an admonition from Commis- 



Sergeant 331 27 



sioner McLeod, the judge of the occasion, that if 
the prisoner had pulled the trigger of his gun, 
he would have been enabled to give him a 20-year 
sentence instead. I believe this man afterwards 
became a keeper at this institution. 

Such rapid and severe punishment, however, 
did not prevent others from attempting feats of 
whiskey smuggling, and again and again the 
brains of the force had to enter upon sharp riv- 
alry with those of the cunning offenders. 

Another new arrival from the American side 
had made his appearance — this time at JFort Mc- 
Leod, about 75 miles from the boundary and 
about 50 miles from the foot of the Rocky Moun- 
tains. As was the custom in the case of all new- 
comers, steps were immediately taken to ascer- 
tain the particular object of his visit. Nothing 
very clear or satisfactory having been obtained, 
we decided that "watchful waiting" was the 
proper course to follow. It was not very long 
after that a decoy secured from him the promise 
of a bottle of rum for a considerable amount in 
return. The methods of men of his class were 
generally to have a cache or hiding place for their 
barreled supplies, to which they would travel in 
the dead of night, and where they would refill a 
demijohn. This in turn was carried in a bag 
which could readily be dropped from the saddle 
should danger appear. Our plans were to catch 
them red-handed with the contraband goods in 
their possession. 



28 Sergeant 331 



On this particular occasion, at about IIP. M., 
a small party of us, mounted, left Fort McLeod 
in a very quiet way, showing no lights, giving all 
commands almost in a whisper, and going by a 
roundabout way. We proceeded to a ford of the 
Old Man's River, some few miles out, where, dis- 
mounting all but one of our men (who was left 
to keep control of the horses), we proceeded on 
foot and lay down at full length in the grass on 
each side of the ford and very close to the river's 
edge. There we stayed without saying a word 
or making a move, awaiting the tell-tale noise of 
a horse fording the river. This came at last about 
2 A. M. At the moment when the rider, whom 
we could scarcely see, was finally emerging on 
our side, a smnmons to halt and surrrender to the 
Mounted Police was answered by an oath, and a 
quick compliance with the request. Thus another 
whiskey smuggler found himself in the toils and 
had come to the conclusion that whiskey-trading 
in the Canadian Northwest was not a lucrative 
occupation. 

My good reader must not, however, for all this, 
imagine that liquor was entirely tabooed in the 
Territory. A special system of permit was in ex- 
istence, whereby a resident, on application to the 
Governor of the Territory — who at that tune re- 
sided at Battleford, the seat of the Northwest 
Council — could secure a written permit, signed by 
the Governor, allowing the applicant to import 
five to ten gallons of a specified kind of alcoholic 



Sergeant 331 29 



liquor, for medicinal or family use. This permit 
accompanied the liquor when it entered the Ter- 
ritory, and was cancelled by the first mounted 
policeman met — generally at the Manitoba Pro- 
vincial boundary. The stub of the permit, show- 
ing the date of cancellation, travelled with the 
liquor to its destination. 

If you will bear in mind the fact that Fort 
McLeod was 50 miles east of the Rockies, Fort 
Walsh 200 miles east of McLeod, and Wood 
Mountain, another post, 200 miles farther east, 
you have the southern line of the police chain of 
main posts. Going directly north from Fort 
Walsh, the central southern post, you would have 
to travel 500 miles to reach Battleford. There 
was, at that time, no direct route from Fort 
Walsh to the north, neither was there any rail- 
road in that immense country. You will readily 
realize how long, approximately, was the time 
required between the date of an application for 
a permit, the sending of the application to Battle- 
ford, the proper consideration of the same, and 
its return to the applicant through the channels 
of the Mounted Police. 

The owner of the fortunate document would 
then send his order, with his check, by mail, to 
some firm, preferably in Winnipeg. The mail 
from Fort Walsh went via Benton, Mont., to 
reach Manitoba. The shipment would then be 
made via Red River carts across the plain to its 
destination, at a speed of about ten to twelve miles 



30 Sergeant 331 



a day, these carts being drawn by oxen. "Old 
Vintage" surely could safely be applied to the 
liquid which arrived at last — but alas! for so 
short a life! A permit was known and recorded 
for months in advance, and the neighbors — I mean 
by neighbors anyone residing within a radius of 
200 miles, some of them living perhaps fifty to 
seventy-five miles apart — were sure to have re- 
ceived the good tidings at least three months in 
advance; and, believe me, they were all in at the 
death I The records show that the life of a permit 
after arrival never exceeded twenty-four hours. 
Its funeral was in some cases the occasion of a 
grand dance, and was attended by pioneer white 
men and half-breed men and women. After the 
celebration, and before departing, the guests 
would make a note of the date of the next permit, 
the arrival of which would be attended at what- 
ever cost of travel. 



CHAPTER V 

THE prairie in all parts of the country 
abounded in game. Rabbits, prairie chick- 
ens, partridges and ducks were there in 
hundreds of thousands. There were also a great 
many deer and antelope, with a few stray herds 
of buffalo showing up now and then. 

As it was easy enough to obtain leave of ab- 
sence, a great many of us would occasionally 
secure a few days and go hunting. Very little 
fishing was indulged in, although nearly every 
lake, big or small — if it were not alkali — was re- 
plete with white-fish or pike. As a rule we could 
content ourselves with hunting the small game. 

On an occasion of this kind, three of us — and a 
half-breed whom we had taken along, half guide 
and half companion — had gone on the prairie 
about seven miles northwest of Fort Walsh, and 
had camped near a small lake. About 3 o'clock 
in the morning, when it was almost daylight, I 
noticed a small herd of buffalo grazing in the 
southeast, perhaps ten miles from us, but gradu- 

31 



32 Sergeant 331 



ally traveling in our direction. We had come 
prepared for small game only; but being now 
anxious to secure the sport of a buffalo hunt — 
the first in my experience — we dispatched the 
half-breed to Fort Walsh to secure rifles, ammu- 
nition and fast horses, known as "buffalo run- 
ners." 

We instructed him to come north of our camp 
on his return, which point the buffalo were likely 
to have reached by that time. Pending his re- 
turn, we watched the game pass east of our camp, 
traveling north, and gradually disappear in a 
distant ravine, probably to lie down and rest. To 
save time, my companions and myself proceeded 
on foot to intercept our courier. We all wore 
moccasins, and made but slow progress, owing to 
the fact that every once in a while we had to sit 
down to extract cactus thorns which had pene- 
trated to our feet. After getting up, we found 
very often that we had to still lose more time in 
extracting other thorns which had meanwhile 
penetrated some other part of our anatomy. 

Our courier, to our immense relief, hove in 
sight at last. We saddled our horses, as we had 
carried our saddles from the camp, took up our 
carbines, and were ready for the fray. Our guide 
cautioned us not to be too hasty, and to do as he 
did. He chose the side of the ravine from which 
the wind blew. We soon came into view of the 
herd, which was resting. We novices were anx- 
ious to start shooting at once, but were cautioned 



Sergeant 331 33 

against doing so. We passed opposite a small 
hollow in the ridge, and were within fifty yards, 
or even less, of some of the animals, but dared 
not shoot as yet. Had we come from the wind- 
ward side, the game would have smelled us a 
quarter of a mile off, and would have taken the 
alarm immediately. As it was, we were almost 
upon them, when, with a leap, they all started 
for the upper plateau. 

We followed them at top speed, ranging our- 
selves to the right, so as not to cross our fire. We 
began firing, each one selecting a separate animal. 
I was soon rewarded by stopping one at the foot 
of a hill. I dismounted to steady my aim, but 
was cautioned immediately by our half-breed to 
remount at once, as there was danger of the 
wounded buffalo making a charge, in which case 
I should need all my skill, and the speed of my 
horse, to escape. 

I fired eight shots into this buffalo's head with- 
out making much of an impression. He simply 
stood his ground and switched his tail at each 
shot. Our guide then advised me to aim at the 
rear of the shoulder and, after the first shot at 
that spot, the beast tumbled over. 

We proceeded immediately to cut him open and 
remove the entrails, so as to save the meat, and 
give the wolves a bait. This would probably keep 
them busy over night, and would prevent them 
from attacking tlie carcass itself, which could 
not be transported until the next day. We se- 



34 Sergeant 331 

cured the tongue and the tenderloins, which we 
strapped on the back of our saddles, and then 
returned to our camp. 

Before cutting up our game, we noticed that 
the rest of the herd, which had described a circle 
in its run, owing to our attack coming all from the 
right, was heading straight back in the direction 
from which it had come in the morning. From 
the high ground where we were, we could observe 
some of the animals passing by our camp — a dis- 
tance of approximately eleven miles — just about 
fifteen minutes after the moment of our charge. 
This will give a fair idea of the speed at which 
these apparently heavy and lumbering animals 
travel, when fully alarmed. Although in appear- 
ance not swift of movement, the length of each 
plunge forward is tremendous, and none but the 
speediest horses could keep up with them, and 
even these only for a short period of time. 

At last I had killed my first buffalo, and I will 
say that it was the greatest sporting event of my 
life, up to that time. A couple of days later, 
after a hunt of prairie chickens, ducks, etc., we 
returned to the fort, to resmue our daily routine. 

It was not very long after this that some Cree 
Indians, who were located about six miles from 
the fort, began their preparations for their an- 
nual Sun Dance. This is a very important event 
in the lives of these Indians, and is tantamount 
to the writing of the tribal history, except that, 
instead of being written, it is orally transmitted 



Sergeant 331 35 



by the older generation to the younger one, to be 
transmitted in turn by the latter to the genera- 
tion to come afterwards. 

Both the United States and the Canadian Gov- 
ernments have forbidden these ceremonials among 
the Indians, and for good reason, which I will 
explain later. Suffice it just now to describe the 
performance. 

A rotunda of about fifty feet in diameter was 
erected, made of small trees, roofed over to a 
larger tree planted in the center. Walls and roof 
were made of evergreens and foliage. Ranged 
in a row inside were a number of stalls, about 
four or five feet in height. Suspended from the 
top of the center support hung two or three lari- 
ats or ropes, made of braided horsehair, with loops 
at the lower ends. 

The ceremony was about to begin when the 
Indians, noting the presence of about six of the 
Mounted Police in scarlet uniforms, extended an 
invitation to us to have, as it were, front orchestra 
seats. This we readily accepted, and seated our- 
selves tailor fashion, in a semi-circle, flat on the 
ground near the center. 

A number of wrinkled old warriors held their 
drums or tom-toms in readiness. At the first 
beating of these the Indians intoned a loud, mo- 
notonous chant, which we understood was a fu- 
neral dirge in memory of their dead. At this 
moment an Indian, with his long hair hanging 
over his face, and tied below his chin in such fash- 



36 Sergeant 331 



ion as completely to hide his features, came into 
the circle crying aloud some lamentation, and 
proceeded to climb to the top of the middle post, 
where he secured a seat, and there he continued 
his loud cries. This, I believe, he was to keep up 
incessantly for a period of three days and nights, 
without food or drink of any kind, as an intone- 
ment of some sort for his dead. 

Meanwhile, Indian men and women, arrayed 
in the scantiest of breech-cloths, and painted from 
head to foot in the most horrible manner with red, 
green, yellow, black and ash color, and with de- 
signs of the most fantastic and diabolical sort, had 
entered the stalls previously referred to, one in 
each. They were all provided with whistles made 
of small tree branches, ornamented with bits of 
fur, brass wires and pieces of colored cotton. In 
unison they kept time with the beating of the 
drums, jumping up and down at each stroke, and 
blowing their whistles — which they kept in their 
mouths, pipe fashion. Those people were not to 
eat, drink, sleep or stop for three days, with the 
inevitable result that most of them dropped to 
the ground through weakness and exhaustion, 
even though they were Indians. 

While all this performance was proceeding, 
each one of the old men of the tribe would in turn 
assume the post of orator, and recite for the edi- 
fication of the younger element the noble and 
worthy deeds of his life. He told how many 
horses he had stolen from enemy tribes, and in 




Bi.ACKKooT Indian, X.\:\n:i) KA-A-UO-TO.N. 



His cott 
iK-ads. I If 
to most Ind 



s of It'alher ornamented with l)rass 
s caiTN ini;- a rt'i)eatiiijj: rifle common 
aus at" tliat time (alxnit ISSO). 



Sergeant 331 37 

doing so how cleverly he had used his tomahawk 
— perhaps on an old woman, who had interfered 
with his plans; also how many of the captured 
wounded enemy he had scalped or tortured, go- 
ing through the most fiendish details. 

Herein lies the well-grounded objection of any 
civilized government to this ceremonial. The 
deeds recited by these old Indians, and gloried in 
by them, were all against the laws of God and 
man, but were put before the eyes and ears of 
children as proper examples to follow; and it is 
likely that the latter in turn would not fail to 
emulate their forefathers. 

When the recitals were ended, the young men 
of the tribe, who are called "old women" — molly- 
coddles, we would say — until such time as they 
were admitted to the soldier lodge and became 
warriors, presented themselves to undergo the 
tests. We saw two of them come forward, look- 
ing somewhat pale and haggard. They were mo- 
tioned by the older men to lie down in front of 
them. One of the old "hard boiled" Indians then 
proceeded, with an old dull knife, to cut into the 
breasts of these young men two parallel straight 
cuts, on each side, leaving a strip of flesh about 
half an inch wide, in the center. Under this strip 
he passed two skewers, crosswise, and bidding 
the men to rise, he fastened the loops from the 
hanging lariat around the skewers; and then the 
unfortunate young fools were wont to throw 
themselves backward with force sufficient to break 



38 Sergeant 331 



the sticks. In one of these cases, the skin was 
pulled away almost six to eight inches without 
breaking, before the young man's sister, wife or 
sweetheart came to the rescue, by jumping on 
his shoulders, and thus, with the double weight, 
succeeded in breaking the sticks. 

Other tortures were in store for these appli- 
cants, before they would be elected to the class 
of warriors; but our stomachs rebelled at the 
brutal exhibition, and we were compelled to leave 
before the curtain was rung down. We were 
satisfied to take the rest for granted. We mount- 
ed our horses and departed, vowing that one 
Sun Dance was about sufficient for any white 
man. 

The suppression of this ceremony among the 
Indians has been a serious undertaking for the 
two Governments, and I believe it was the in- 
direct cause of the death, by shooting, of Sitting 
Bull. 



CHAPTER VI 

IT was customary, through the Summer and 
Fall, to let our horses graze on the prairie 
through the day, two or three men taking 
charge of them in turn. On one occasion one of 
the men had a dispute with an Indian, and the 
latter went away muttering. This was a fore- 
boding of trouble for some one, and unfortunate- 
ly enough, one of our young men named Gray- 
burn, who hailed from Ottawa, was the victim. 
Having gone back in the evening to the spot 
where the horses had been through the day, he 
was probably mistaken for some one else by an 
Indian, who shot him in the back and shot his 
horse also. 

His absence was noted at the Fort, and a 
searching party was sent immediately, but noth- 
ing came of it that evening. The next morning 
the search was taken up anew, and, while passing 
near a ravine, the horse under Jerry Potts, the 
guide on this occasion, and the most famous one 
in all the territory, stumbled. In doing so he 

39 



40 Sergeant 331 



disturbed some of the snow which had fallen 
through the night — the first of the season. The 
snow at this spot showed traces of blood. The 
neighborhood was searched immediately, and 
Grayburn's body was found in the ravine, near 
this place, and his horse was found there also. 

A year or so later the suspected Indian was 
arrested and tried at Fort McLeod; and, although 
considered guilty by ahnost everyone, a jury ac- 
quitted him of the charge. The reason for this, 
someone has said since, was fear upon the part 
of the jurymen of the revenge of the Indians 
upon their cattle, should this member of their 
tribe be found guilty and executed. However, 
he afterwards was again arrested and found guil- 
ty of some other crime, for which he was sent to 
the penitentiary for a long period of years. 

A strange coincidence in connection with the 
unfortunate murder of our j^oung friend and com- 
panion Grayburn, who died through being mis- 
taken for another, was, that not many months 
later, the man who originally had been the cause 
of the trouble was accidentally shot and killed by 
one of our own men, while the latter was unload- 
ing his Winchester rifle, after guard dismounting. 

Soon after the death of Grayburn, there were 
three Indian prisoners in the guard room at Fort 
Walsh, ostensibly under a charge of horse steal- 
ing. One of these we thought to be under sus- 
picion of a more serious offence, that of being the 
murderer of our companion; but the officer in 



Sergeant 331 41 



command did not dare say as much openly, fear- 
ing the temper of the men of the force on this 
question. Be that as it may, however, one evening 
the three Indians made a break for hberty. No 
sooner was tlie alarm given than some of us ran 
to our horses, and, riding bareback, started in 
pursuit, armed with revolver or carbine. Others 
ran in front of the fort, and immediately took pot 
shots at the fugitives, directing their fire more 
at one than at the other two — that is, at the sus- 
pected one. 

The attempt to escape had apparently been 
prearranged, and while passing over a small hill 
in front of the fort, where there was an Indian 
camp, the prisoners had been hurriedly supplied 
with repeating rifles, and a belt of ammunition 
e-ich, 0:n' mounted men being in close pursuit, 
had nctictd this detail, and immediately prepared 
for action. The leader, Constable Ploule, coming 
abreast of one of the fugitives, instantly snapped 
his revolver at him, but fortunately — or unfortu- 
nately as you may have it — this failed to explode. 
The Indian, at that moment, seeing the nimiber 
of horsemen close at hand, threw up his hands, 
letting his gim fall to the g found. He was taken 
in charge and the pursuit of the second prisoner 
was resumed. He had taken temporary refuge 
in some underbrush, but a rifle volley in that di- 
rection soon brought him out from under cover, 
with both hands in the air, and he in turn was 
captured. 



42 Sergeant 331 



The third prisoner, a younger man, had taken 
an entirely different direction from the start, 
following the course of a small river at the rear 
of the fort, and all effort to locate him proved, 
for the time being, of no avail. Reasoning that 
he could not travel very far without food, and 
that he would most likely try to approach some 
Indian camp through the night, to obtain sup- 
plies, about twenty-five of us disguised ourselves 
as Indians and strolled over the prairie that night, 
expecting a call from the wayward one; but 
nothing came of it. 

On the following evening, one of the men, the 
tailor of the force, who had his own house, sur- 
rounded by a stockade, a little distance from the 
fort, came in to report that an Indian had fallen 
in his yard, while trying to climb over the stock- 
ade, and was lying there unconscious. Some men 
were at once sent to the spot, and the Indian was 
brought to the hospital, where he died a few 
minutes afterwards. He proved to be our es- 
caped prisoner, and word of his death was sent 
to his camp the next morning. 

A rimior had somehow gained credence among 
the Indians that we intended to hang these three 
men. This idea may have originated through an 
inner feeling, or knowledge, on the part of the 
Indians, that one of the prisoners was the mur- 
derer of Grayburn. In any event, upon receiv- 
ing the news of the death of this prisoner they 
became firmly convinced that this had been his 



Sergeant 331 43 



fate. Shortly after, Indian women and children 
were noticed leaving the vicinity, and a number 
of momited Indians appeared on the crest of the 
different ridges surrounding the fort. 

To all appearances, this meant an Indian war 
in preparation. Some of the chiefs, under one 
pretense or other, came in to see the officer in 
command, more likely to get their bearings, and 
size up the surroundings. Major Crozier seized 
upon the occasion to express his great sorrow for 
the unfortunate end of their young man, and 
finally convinced them of his sincerity. If such 
was the case, they asked that the Major would 
testify to his friendship by having this young 
buck buried in the uniform of the Mounted Po- 
lice, as they considered this a very high honor. 
To this the Major readily consented, which is 
why a redskin was buried in the red uniform, 
some day perhaps to be discovered and brought 
to light by men of science, who will expatiate 
upon the conformation of the cranium of an ex- 
member of the police force, and its similarity, 
after all, to that of a North American Indian. 

All assurances of friendship coming from our 
friends the Indians were, as a matter of course, 
taken at all times with a large pinch of salt. We 
took no chances in this case, and buried the Indian 
on top of the highest hill east of Fort Walsh. 
Four men — my former companion of the buffalo 
hunt, named Dorion, and myself, being two of 
them — alternated in digging the grave. Two dug 



44 S erg emit 331 

while the other two men mounted guard and kept 
a lookout for eagle feathers in the grass, expect- 
ing a stray shot at any moment. Our apprehen- 
sions, however, proved useless, and everything 
ended quietly. 

Summer had come to an end, and with it the 
everlasting torture of mosquitoes — not only to 
body but to mind as well. Like all tenderfoot 
newcomers, I had suffered enough that Summer 
from this ever-present pest of the prairie. I posi- 
tively had mosquitoes on the brain, and I began 
to fear that I could not stay through another 
warm season in the country. 

I have heard, I have seen, and I have felt the 
mosquitoes in Jersey; but they are as a gentle 
zephyr compared to a hurricane when it comes 
to the mosquitoes in the Northwest, where they 
were by countless millions. The tenderfoot, on 
that account, was usually provided with a netting, 
mounted on wire, and this was his best friend dur- 
ing his period of apprenticeship. But I must say 
that, in the following year, I did not mind nor 
feel these birds of prey so much, and by the third 
season I could sleep in comfort, rolled up in my 
blanket on the plains, my face and hands fully 
exposed, and could listen to the melodious music 
of the mosquitoes with interest and amusement. 
I had become immune, or tough enough not to be 
disturbed by their bites. 

Winter was now upon us ; but, as our esteemed 
Kipling would say, "that is another story." I 



Sergeant 331 4^5 

shall not at this time enlarge upon its beauties, 
but I shall reserve their description for those 
special occasions which brought them forcibly to 
my notice. 



CHAPTER VII 

JUST now we are concerned with a short trip 
from Fort Walsh to East End Post — an out- 
post seventy miles east, to which four of us 
were directed to proceed, in order to increase the 
force there to the large number of eight men, 
whose duties were to keep Sitting Bull's camp 
of about four thousand Indians in proper and 
lawful order. This camp was about six miles 
south of the post at the time. 

Promptly, as ordered, we started with a four- 
in-hand wagon, well loaded with provisions for 
the Winter, and with the necessary medicines — 
that is, whatever each one of us selected as likely 
to be needed. We had to be good guessers — 
each one, when at an outpost, being his own 
doctor, surgeon and nurse. 

Thus provisioned, we left under the command 
of Captain Cotton. Having gone about five 
miles, Captain Cotton stopped the party and 
directed us to uncover a box of ammunition which 
had been put in the wagon, so that we might help 
ourselves to about fifty rounds each. He had re- 

46 



Sergeant 331 47 



ceived information from headquarters that the 
professed friendship of the Indians was none too 
secure, and he thought it was better to be pre- 
pared for eventualities, keeping our eyes and 
ears open as we travelled along. 

The thermometer was then about five degrees 
below zero. We were to arrive at about 10 
o'clock that night at the cabin of a hunter whose 
name was Lambert. Having crossed a good sized 
lake on the ice, we were nearing this place, when 
we heard the sound of a small, silver-toned bell 
coming toward us; but, search as we might, we 
could not discern anj^hing. It seemed most un- 
canny. The thing was ahnost upon us, and yet 
we could see nothing. Suddenly something 
brushed against me, and ahnost gave me "the 
shivers." I put my hand forward instinctively, 
and recognized ahnost immediately, by the feel- 
ing, that I had got hold of an antelope. I seized 
it by one horn for fear it might escape ; but still I 
could not account for the bell, until I discovered 
a leather strap around the animal's neck, with a 
tiny bell attached to it. I hung on to my conquest 
until we had reached the hut, when I brought my 
captive inside. 

We were then informed that it was Lambert's 
pet antelope, which we could not lose if we tried. 
Someone gave it a chew of tobacco, and from that 
moment it was a problem how to get the dear little 
animal outside again, so intent was it upon stay- 
ing with us. Some months later, this pet wan- 



48 Sergeant 331 

dered awaj^ a little too far from home, and was 
shot by some Indian, who probably disliked Lam- 
bert as much as he disliked them all. Lambert 
had formerly spent twenty-six years of his life 
on the Missouri and was a typical frontiersman. 

The next day we resumed our journey and 
finally arrived at our destination without mishap. 
Captain Cotton and the teamster returned, and 
we settled down for the Winter. A sergeant was 
in charge, and a routine of drills and riding les- 
sons was daily indulged in. It was while taking 
one of these rides, bareback and with spurs on, 
that a small horse called "Warwick," but which 
I called "Waterloo," sent me sprawling on top 
of a low thatched roof, while he stood there look- 
ing at me after his bucking stunt, as if thorough- 
ly amused, though I was not. 

There being so few of us at this outpost, it was 
out of the question to keep animals on the hoof 
for our supply of meat. Most of it would have 
spoiled before we could have consumed an entire 
beef. Therefore, our only supply was bacon, 
pemmican, and dried buffalo meat. This we our- 
selves supplemented, by means of our guns, with 
venison, prairie chicken, rabbits, and even bear 
meat — all of which was extremely good with the 
exception of the bear meat, which, to my taste, 
was entirely too oily and greasy. The dried 
buffalo meat, which resembled sheets of parch- 
ment, we would soak in water. It would then 
absorb all the moisture it had originally held, and 



Sergeant 331 49 

would resemble the appearance of fresh meat. 
This we then fried with bacon, and it proved a 
very savory dish. 

We made our bread with baking powder, and 
on special, grand occasions we would add a few 
raisins, if there were any to be had at the only 
traders' post in the place. Such bread we classed 
as a luxury. 

Our tea was supplied to us dry and in com- 
l)ressed form, and it was excellent. Tea, by the 
way, is the best heat-producing beverage that any 
one can use in excessively cold weather. 

I might add, in regard to our food, that not very 
far from us there was a small lake which proved 
to be full of whitefish. By means of nets we were 
able to obtain quite a supply of these, which we 
would bring to our quarters and dump into a small 
hut, which was like a natural icebox all winter. 
When in need of a change of diet we would press 
out one of these fishes, and with a draw knife 
proceed to cut the outer surface as one would a 
piece of wood. We would then cut off the head 
and tail, split in two, and remove the entrails, 
which had shrunk to the size of a walnut. This 
fish, when fried in bacon fat, was indeed fit for a 
king. 

At this post I became acquainted with "Ante- 
lope," one of Sitting Bull's Indians, and often he 
would come, and for hours at a time, exchange with 
me lessons in Sioux for lessons in English. 
Through him, mainly, I was able to acquire suffi- 



50 Sergeant 331 

cient knowledge of the language to understand 
most of what Indians might say, or to make them 
understand what I wanted. This, together with 
the sign language, which is common to all Indi- 
ans, made me feel quite at home with that tribe. 

One day the alarm was given that a "grizzly" 
was in sight on the plain, and a running hunt, buf- 
falo style, was started. The animal was soon 
brought to bay, and proved an enormous beast, 
weighing over a thousand pounds. We ate the 
meat, but, as already said, it did not appeal to 
many of us. 

Christmas came around in the West as well as 
in the East, and with it vivid mental recollections 
of glorious nights in the old home ; but for all that 
we were not downhearted in our solitude. Oh, no ! 
On the contrary, we were ready to, and did, go to 
a great deal of trouble to make the most of it. 

On this occasion we had to have the never-failing 
plumduff — a plum pudding without plums, which 
was a regular institution. We needed some ingre- 
dients for this, such as raisins, spices, etc., and as 
none were in sight, we agreed that three of the 
force should go to Fort Walsh — merely a distance 
of 140 miles out and back — to secure the necessary 
things. They started, but, alas! man proposes and 
God disposes. They returned one week after 
Christmas ! The weather, they said, had prevented 
them from getting back in time, but our suspicions 



Sergeant 331 51 



led us to imagine them gorging themselves with 
plum pudding in Fort Walsh, and that, as likely 
as not, we were the "goats." 

Instead of having a pudding on Christmas night 
we enjoyed a little excursion. Two sick horses 
that were housed in the room next to ours — these 
rooms being both alike, with bare ground for floor- 
ing, one called a bedroom, the other a stable — 
went out of their own accord. The wind had blown 
their door open, and they had descended a sharp 
incline back of our quarters and reached the level 
of the ice on the creek, where they were in the habit 
of drinking. Hearing the door slamming, a com- 
panion and myself jumped out of bed, and, 
dressed only in our underclothes, ran out to inves- 
tigate the trouble. 

The horses were gone, and the thermometer was 
about 35 degrees below zero. We ran back to our 
room to put on moccasins and wrap ourselves in 
blankets. Out we went again, but when we tried 
to approach the horses in our regalia they took 
fright and started at a trot toward the upper end 
of the creek, which was narrow, with steep banks 
on each side. We ran almost two miles in that 
delightf ul ( ? ) weather. Despairing of capturing 
the animals, we threw off the blankets, and thus, 
with only our underclothes on, we were able to 
catch them. We brought them back to where our 
blankets were, and, gathering these up, we 
mounted the animals and rode them back home. 
We were like two icicles when we got through, but 



52 Sergeant 331 

we built up our chimney fire, and after fully an 
hour we got warmed up. Meanwhile, we discussed 
Christmas, beautiful Christmas, and wondered 
what our folks at home would have thought if they 
could have seen us. We laughed, and we thought, 
too, of the plumduff that we had missed ! 

I must relate here a story that is told in connec- 
tion with this station — East End Post. Although 
I was not there at the time the incident occurred, 
I believe it to be absolutely true. 

Major Walsh, who was in command at Wood 
Mountain, a main post, 130 miles farther East, 
had left on his way to Fort Walsh, and passed 
the East End Post, where he stayed overnight, 
planning to travel the rest of the distance, 70 miles, 
in one day. The Major had the reputation of be- 
ing one of the fastest and best drivers in the coun- 
try, but had a close second. Sergeant Bliss, a four- 
in-hand driver of the force, who was also counted 
one of the best but one of the hardest drivers — 
that is to say, he was without regard for the horses 
or oxen under his charge. 

Sergeant Bliss had on this occasion been sent 
to East End Post from Fort Walsh with a four- 
in-hand team of oxen, with provisions. Oxen gen- 
erally average twelve miles a day with a load. 
Bliss, on his return to Fort Walsh, had started 
early in the morning from East End Post, and 
was overtaken by Major Walsh, who, always in 
good spirits, and knowing what a punishment it 
was for the former to be driving oxen, thought 












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Sergeant 331 53 

to tantalize hini still further by saying: "Bliss, 
I want to see you at Fort Walsh to-night," and 
then proceeded on his way. 

Think of the astonishment of the Major, when, 
having arrived at Fort Walsh that night, even 
before he had time to have the gates opened, he 
saw Bliss coming over the hills, brandishing his 
long whip over his four oxen, which were at a full 
gallop, and which, a few moments after, arrived 
where the Major was. All four oxen dropped, 
never to rally again. Bliss jumped out of his 
wagon, saluted, and reported: "Major, I am 
here." He had obeyed an order. The Major bit 
his lips, but this ended the incident; not so the 
story, which has traveled ever since, and is known 
as "Bliss' famous bull run." 



CHAPTER VIII 

IN the month of March four of us were recalled 
to Fort Walsh, and, as was our custom, we 
constructed our own individual sleighs or 
jumpers for the trij). These were made entirely 
of wood, not a nail being used in the construction. 
Their runners, made of green wood, were devoid 
of any iron, as we found that iron, when clear of 
snow, would stick to the frozen ground, whereas 
green wood would glide much more easily. 

Everything being in readiness, we departed, car- 
rying with us a small tent, which regulations pre- 
scribed as an absolute adjunct for our Winter trip. 
We did not think it was a necessity, in this in- 
stance, as we intended to reach Lambert's place 
the first night, and make Fort Walsh the next; 
but wiser heads had framed the regulations, and 
knew of the Winter hazards. It proved necessary 
on this trip. 

We reached Lambert's place the first night, ac- 
cording to schedule, and left the next morning, in- 
tending to reach Fort Walsh that night. We had 

54 



Sergeant 331 55 

eaten our luncheon in a small ravine, and shortly 
after had ascended to the level plateau of the prai- 
rie, but had gone hardly three miles when we were 
assailed by a terrific snow storm. It came like 
lightning out of a clear sky. The sun had been 
shining brightly half an hour before. The wind 
rose, and roared so fiercely that we had to shout at 
the top of our voices to be heard. The snow came 
down in large flakes, and, what was most danger- 
ous, it was wet. We had no choice in the matter. 
We stopped where we were, put up our small tent, 
after serious difficulty owing to the gale, and un- 
harnessed our horses, which simply turned their 
backs to the windward. 

Taking our rolled blankets, we placed these in- 
side the tent to keep the edges down and to pre- 
vent the snow from filling the inside; and there 
we sat, awaiting the cessation of the storm. Night 
came, however, without any respite. Knowing 
what this meant, we agreed among ourselves that 
as soon as darkness was complete each one of us 
should call every five or ten minutes, thus safe- 
guarding against the possibility of any one falling 
asleep, and the consequent danger of freezing to 
death, due to the wet condition of our clothes. 

Thus agreed, we sat on our rolls of blankets, 
stamping our feet and patting our hands to keep 
the blood in circulation. The cold, nevertheless, 
was gradually gaining on us, and it was soon nec- 
essary to put the repeated calls in operation. One 
of the party, a minister's son by the way, named 



56 Sergeant 331 

Geneva, soon gave up responding. Instantly, and 
all together, in the dark, we started to punch him, 
with the idea of getting his ginger up, and with it 
we got his language up, too. From my remem- 
brance, I feel to this day that it certainly was no 
place for a minister's son. We woke him up, but 
it was hard work. 

At about 2 A. M. the storm began to subside, 
and at 3 A. M. the stars were shining. We decided 
to leave as soon as we could see. Most of us were 
very numb. Personally, I did not feel my feet, 
nor my legs, for that matter, clear up to the knees. 
I felt as if walking on stilts. Our hands and fin- 
gers were stiff and almost useless. Some of us, 
of course, were worse than others. I managed to 
have my moccasins cut away from my feet by one 
of my companions, hoping that with only my 
stockings on — four pairs — there might be freer 
movement of the feet, which would result in bring- 
ing back the circulation. At this time I had a 
vision of a double amputation being necessary, but 
I determined I would try to save my feet, know- 
ing how useful they are at times. Fortunately, I 
did! 

It was indeed a disreputable-looking outfit that 
arrived at Fort Walsh at about 7 A. M. We all 
looked more or less alike. I do not remember ex- 
actly how the others fared, but I do know that I 
arrived walking in my stocking feet, a pair of 
socks for mittens, and with a mufHer which was so 
frozen around my neck and face from my breath- 



Sergeant 331 57 

ing that Captain Cotton, who met our party at the 
gate, had to ask me who I was. He wanted to 
know where we had been through the night, and 
we answered him: "At the Hotel Outside." A 
special detail of men immediately took charge of 
our horses, and we were served with hospital com- 
fort in sufficient quantity to warm us for the rest 
of the Winter. 

We were fortunate in not losing even a finger. 
It was not always the same story, as many mem- 
bers of the force lost fingers or toes, and at one 
time one of them lost both ears from freezing. 
This constable, a man named Parker, got lost on 
his way to an outpost on the Milk River, some 70 
miles from Fort Walsh. A searching party found 
him unconscious in the snow. His horse was still 
there, having been walking in a circle around him 
for about twenty-four hours. The man's life was 
saved, but both his ears had been frozen beyond 
help. 

We remained at Fort Walsh until midsummer, 
when "B" Division — one of the two that had been 
at headquarters — was transferred to Fort Qu'Ap- 
pelle, a distance of 350 miles northeast by east 
from the Cypress Hills. We started in full and 
complete equipment for our new post, under the 
command of Inspector Steele. 

First, however, we had to submit to a mounted 
parade, when every part of our equipment, down 
to the last button, had to be immaculately clean 
and in proper shape. We wore our full brilliant 



58 Sergeant 331 

uniforms, white helmets and white gauntlets, spurs 
shining like silver, and so on. Every horse was 
spick and span, with a shining coat and a well-fed 
appearance that was agreeable to the eye. 

But all of this was to be of short duration, for 
as soon as we made our first camp all things of 
beauty would be relegated to our kit bags, and 
buckskin shirts, old riding breeches, boots and 
sombreros would come to the front, for we had 
to be ready for real work. 

There would be bogs innumerable to cross, 
where deep, black mud would be encountered. 
Wagons would be mired and would have to be 
pulled out. There would be cooking and baking 
to be done, the buffalo chips (manure) to be gath- 
ered in blankets to supply us with fuel, for you 
must remember that on the road we traveled we 
should not find a tree the size of my little finger. 

We carried oats in quantity to feed our horses, 
as these could not be given time enough to feed on 
the nutritious prairie grass. So, well prepared, 
we would break our first camp looking like a lot 
of desperadoes. The hair and the whiskers of the 
men would start to grow at the same time, and 
these would not receive any attention again until 
we arrived at our destination, were it one week or 
six weeks after. 

The horses, which would travel from forty to 
sixty miles a day, according to the state of the 
trail, would begin to lose flesh, and the wagons, 
full at the start, would gradually become depleted 



Sergeant 331 59 

of their contents, and at the end of the trip would 
be empty, so that instead of having a clean canvas 
pulled taut over a full load they would show only 
a number of overhead ribs with the covering lying 
on the bottom of the wagon. All in all, the ap- 
pearance of a caravan arriving was somewhat dif- 
ferent from one departing. Every man looked 
unkempt, the horses' ribs could be counted a quar- 
ter of a mile away, and very often a number of 
loose horses would come following the train by 
themselves, worn to a frazzle b}^ the ravages of 
alkali water which they had drunk accidentally. 
An arriving outfit was always a lamentable sight, 
but it would take only a few days to put every- 
thing again in order. 

On this particular trip nothing very eventful 
happened, but it was somewhat of a test for one 
who was not yet inured to the saddle. I remember 
that my particular chum on this trip was Captain 
Duchesnay, who was a constable in the force, but 
who had at one time been second in command 
of Battery "B" in Quebec. He and I formed the 
rear guard. While crossing the Big Salt Plain, 
a piece of territory which resembled exactly a 
dining-room table, with absolutely nothing but 
the straight horizon all around us, the traveling 
became so monotonous that we both in turn fell 
asleep in our saddles. In our wakeful moments 
we experienced the effect of mirage. Both could 
see, at times, ships, churches, large buildings, etc., 



60 Sergeant 331 

which appeared as if suspended a few feet above 
the horizon. We were never deceived, however, 
knowing full well, from past experience, that noth- 
ing of the kind existed in that neighborhood. It 
was, nevertheless, most interesting. 






CHAPTER IX 

WE were then traveling over parts of the 
country which have since become centers 
of civihzation — Maple Creek, Medicine 
Hat, Moose Jaw and Regina. But little did we 
dream then what time would bring about but a few 
years after. 

On the last day of our trip we had reached a 
spot which would today be some five miles south 
of Regina, Saskatchewan. There we encountered 
a half-breed, of whom we inquired the distance to 
Fort Qu'Appelle. He informed us that it was 
about "twelve miles and a bit." Now, my dear 
reader, remember the "bit" for future information. 
This one proved to be exactly eighteen miles, and 
we had to travel thirty miles to arrive at our desti- 
nation, in the beautiful Qu'Appelle Valley, where 
runs a small river which forms a chain of seven 
lakes in close proximity. 

We were delighted with our new location, near 
the Hudson's Bay Company's fort, and we soon 
set up our camp and prepared ourselves for a per- 

61 



62 Sergeant 331 

manent stay. This was at about 2 P. M. At 5 
P. M. five others and myself were ordered to be 
ready to start at 8 o'clock the following morning 
for Shoal Lake. We had come 350 miles; Shoal 
Lake was 150 miles farther, and at 8 A. M. the 
next day, with our faces clean once more, the small 
party left for Shoal Lake, passing Fort Ellice on 
the way. We arrived in due time. We had ridden 
from Fort Walsh to Shoal Lake, 500 miles, in 
twelve and a half days. And yet some people have 
thought, and said, that President Roosevelt's order 
of a ride of 90 miles in three days, as a test for the 
army, was too severe! 

Shoal I^ake was near the western boundary of 
Manitoba. It was only a few weeks afterward, 
however, that this boundary, through legislation, 
was shifted farther west, and owing to this we 
found ourselves outside of our prescribed terri- 
tory. We received orders to abandon the place 
and return to Qu'Appelle, which we did. 

Arriving at Qu'Appelle once more, we found 
that preparations were being made to build per- 
manent quarters, consisting of one specially large 
building, made of logs, with a thatched roof. Fear- 
ing, however, that the season would be too short to 
allow the building of a stable on the same scale, it 
was decided that temporary stables should be built. 
This was done by erecting walls made of slight 
trees such as could be found in the valley, with a 
space of about two feet in depth between these, to 



Sergeant 331 63 



be filled with hay, well packed, a rather hazardous 
fire risk, but the best we could do. 

The barracks were completed very late in the 
Fall — I should say the Winter, the thermometer 
having gone down to 50 degrees below zero before 
we occupied the building. The crevices between 
the logs not having been thoroughly filled, snow 
could drift in. It was not an uncommon sight, 
some mornings in the course of the Winter, to see 
some one using a shovel to take the snow off the 
occupant of a corner near the door, who, however, 
had generally taken the precaution of putting a 
rubber sheet over his bed before retiring. Not- 
withstanding this, the quarters were fairly com- 
fortable, as we had great sheet-iron stoves which 
we kept well filled with wood. 

Our tents had remained standing quite late, 
each one of us having the privilege of choosing be- 
tween the tents and the unfinished quarters. I had 
decided for the tent, and was asleep there one 
night, well covered up with buifalo robes, when 
some one called me, and stated in the most em- 
phatic tone that he had brought a couple of "stiffs" 
to sleep with me. On further questioning, I was 
informed that two surveyors, who had eaten wild 
parsnips somewhere in the Touchwood Hills, had 
died of poisoning. My informant, who had 
brought the bodies to Qu'Appelle, finding no other 
convenient place, had decided to leave them in my 
tent until morning. I remarked that up to that 
time I knew we had to bury dead people, but I did 



64 Sergeant 331 



not know it was our police duty to sleep with 
them ; but this I had to do. 

In the following Summer an epidemic of glan- 
ders broke out among our horses. The hay sta- 
bles, where they were located, proved a regular 
nest for the disease, and one b}^ one we had to take 
the horses, as soon as they showed signs of infec- 
tion, to a distance of about one mile, to shoot 
them. 

It was intended that we should destroy the car- 
casses by burning them, and with this in view our 
men would first shoot the horse and then go back 
to the post for the necessary load of wood. It 
usually happened, however, that by the time the 
men returned to the place of execution there never 
was a horse to burn. Indians were always on the 
lookout, and as soon as our men retired the Indi- 
ans would proceed to cut up the carcasses for the 
purpose of food, leaving not even the hoofs. How 
these people could ever prepare such food without 
contracting that most horrible of diseases is be- 
yond my scientific knowledge. They not only did 
this, however, but we knew, also, that they were 
in the habit of eating poisoned wolves that had 
been killed with strychnine. 

From Qu'Appelle our mails went by couriers, 
who had ponies and buckboards for the purpose. 
The mails were three weeks apart, and should you 
fail to catch one it meant that three months must 
elapse before an answer could come from the far 
East — that is, from Ottawa, Montreal, etc. 



Sergeant 331 65 



It so happened that one day Inspector Steele, 
who was then in command of Qu'Appelle, 
wanted to send an especially important report to 
Ottawa, but had just missed the courier. In a 
quandary, he sent to Chief Pasquas' reserve for an 
I ndian runner named Tom Lamac. Tom was told 
that he had 24 hours to overtake the mail at 
Fort Ellice, and if he did this he would get a bag 
of flour. He was told that he could have either a 
horse or dogs to get there, but replied that he 
would go on foot. He started at once, without 
more formality than a letter to the Hudson's Bay 
Company's factor at Fort Ellice, stating the intent 
and conditions of his trip. The distance was 117 
miles. He arrived in 22 hours, and received his re- 
ward upon his return. 

This same Indian could speak English, French. 
Sioux, Assiniboine, Cree and Saulteaux. He was 
an excellent runner, but when matched against 
one of our men, McCormick — in a 25-mile race on 
Dominion Day — he lost. He was, however, the 
onlv Indian who finished out of sixteen starters. 



CHAPTER X 

I BELIEVE it was in the course of this Sum- 
mer that Sitting Bull, with his family and a 
handful of followers, arrived at Fort Qu'Ap- 
pelle. He had come in the hope of meeting Major 
Walsh, with whom he had become acquainted at 
Wood Mountain, and whom he admired and 
trusted very much. These few Indians hung 
around the place, awaiting the arrival of each mail 
from the East, hoping against hope to hear from 
Major Walsh. They were destitute of everything 
and starving. 

Through compassion, I undertook to feed Sit- 
ting Bull's two children, a girl and a boy. The 
girl was about fifteen years of age, and her Indian 
name, translated, meant "The-Girl-Who-Winks- 
At-You-As-She-Walks-Along." I should have 
called her "The Flirt." The boy was about six 
years of age. I do not remember his name, but he 
is the same one who in after years appeared at 
Madison Square Garden with his family. 

The little girl seemed quite grateful, and one 

66 



Sergeant 331 67 



day brought me a pair of slippers which she her- 
self had embroidered, and which she wished me to 
send to my sister. This I did, and in return I re- 
ceived from my sister, who was in St. Johns Prov- 
ince of Quebec, a silver necklace, which I was to 
give to the little Indian girl. Meantime, however, 
the latter had returned to the United States with 
her father, and I was never able to deliver the 
necklace to her. 

All efforts to get these Indians back to the 
United ^States having failed, we received orders 
from Ottawa that we were no longer to trade with, 
feed, or even talk to them. I imparted this in- 
formation to Sitting Bull, who said to me then that 
the white man had gone back on them, and that 
sooner than return to the United States he would 
prefer to drown himself in the White Mud River. 
He evidently changed his mind later, when he sur- 
rendered himself to the American authorities. 

It was at about this time that the Canadian Pa- 
cific Railway, the construction of which was being 
pushed from Winnipeg westward, was approach- 
ing the eastern boundary of the Northwest Terri- 
tory. The grading force numbered about 10,000 
to 12,000 men, nearly all foreigners, principally 
Italians. Most of these men were of the roughest 
kind, and were in the habit of getting all the intox- 
icating liquors they wanted, Manitoba being a 
*'wet" province. 

They were duly informed that whenever they 
crossed the boundarv line this would come to an 



68 Sergeant 331 

end. They thought differently in their own minds, 
and wanted to know who could stop them. Em- 
boldened by their stand, the numerous hangers-on, 
who were supplying them and were reaping a har- 
vest, encouraged them, hoping that they might be 
able to carry on as usual. They actually crossed 
the boundary, and for a few days continued to get 
their booze. 

Word to this effect reached the nearest post, 
namely, Fort Qu'Appelle. Corporal Ryan was 
at once sent to the place, but properly camouflaged 
in mufti, so as not to divulge his errand until the 
proper time had come. He soon located nine men 
doing a thriving business. Having secured the 
proper evidence, he donned his uniform, put the 
nine men under arrest, and sent word to Major 
Walsh, asking instructions as to whether he should 
hold the prisoners there or bring them to Qu'Ap- 
pelle. 

Major Walsh was then on his way to the place, 
and received the communication en route. He im- 
mediately dispatched Sergeant Bliss, who was 
traveling with him, to Fort Qu'Appelle with a 
message to me, instructing me to start at once 
in order to catch up to him by the next night, and 
to bring with me all necessary papers and forms to 
hold Court. 

This message was sent to me direct, as I was 
then filling the office of Clerk of the Court for the 
Civil and Criminal Court, which was held about 
every three months, under Colonel Richardson, 



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Sergeant 331 69 



one of the three Stipendiary Magistrates of the 
country, who afterwards presided at the trial of 
Riel, the head of the half-breed rebellion. Inspec- 
tor Griesbach was in command of the post in the 
absence of Major Walsh, and I showed him my 
orders. He replied simply, "Do as the Major 
wishes you to." 

I selected my own trooper, Cataract, and his 
mate, Whitecap, bronchos, about fourteen hands 
two in height and of middle weight, and so much 
alike that they might have been twins. I hitched 
them to a buckboard, and started at about 5 P. M. 
I had with me, shackled to the foot crossbar of the 
buckboard, an Indian prisoner who had been 
brought from the neighborhood where we were to 
hold court, and whom we thought it advisable to 
send back there. 

We traveled through the Qu'Appelle Valley 
until about 10 P. M., when we arrived at the place 
of a settler named Ross. We had come through 
what I should call clouds of mosquitoes. These 
were so thick that, with the speed of the horses, one 
could hardly open one's mouth or eyes without get- 
ting one of the pests within. 

We were to stay at Ross' until about 2 or 3 
o'clock the next morning. The problem which 
confronted me, then, was how to take care of my 
prisoner. Staying at Ross' did not mean a suite 
of rooms or anything of that sort ; it meant simply 
sleeping out of doors, but with the ability to get 
a meal without having to cook it. I hit upon the 



'0 Sergeant 331 



idea of getting my Indian to lie down with his feet 
near one of the wheels of the buckboard. I myself 
lay down on the opposite side, shackling the Indi- 
an's feet in my own, through the wheels. I then 
placed my revolver and the key to the shackles as 
far away from my head as I could reach, and thus 
went to sleep, feeling secure. 

In the morning, at about 3 o'clock, I released 
my prisoner, without relieving him of his shackles, 
however. This allowed him to move about slowly, 
so that he could prepare a fire for our breakfast, 
Ross' dining room being out of commission at that 
hour. After breakfast we started at a lively gait, 
making three or four stops on the way to refresh 
our horses. We arrived at our destination at about 
7 P. M., having journeyed 120 miles in an actual 
traveling time of twenty-one hours. 

No sooner had we arrived than Major Walsh 
held court. Every prisoner pleaded guilty. Each 
one was sentenced to pay a fine of $200 or to serve 
six months in jail. The fines were all paid, and in 
commemoration of the incident the railroad work- 
ers, or navvies, as they were known, called the spot 
"Red Jacket." They had become acquainted with 
it there; and to this day, I believe, the name has 
remained. The rest of the railroad job was a pro- 
hibition one until the workers reached a "wet" 
province, British Columbia. 



CHAPTER XI 

WHEN the force first entered the Terri- 
tory, Indians roamed the plains at will, 
and lived by hunting. One of the objects 
of the Mounted Police was to induce these Indi- 
ans to sign treaties by which they were to transfer 
their titles to the land, and to give up their no- 
madic life. 

They were to settle on reserves and become 
farmers. In return, they were to receive land 
equal to one square mile for each member of their 
tribe, and the Government was to supply them 
with farm instructors and the necessary imple- 
ments and food until such time as they should be- 
come self-supporting. Each chief was also to re- 
ceive annually $100, every counsel or head man 
$25, and the members of each family $5 each. For 
this purpose a card was issued to each family, 
showing the name of each Indian. New-borns 
were added yearly, and deceased ones marked off. 

The date for the pajTuents was known as Treaty 
Money Day, and the lure of a plethora of ready 
cash, here, as in other places, always drew a num- 
ber of unscrupulous traders, who would try to re- 

71 



72 Sergeant 331 

lieve Lo, the poor Indian, of his wealth in as short 
a time as possible. Twenty-dollar and $10 bills 
were to him one and the same thing as far as value 
was concerned. The Government, having at heart 
the protection of its wards, decided for the future 
to pay them all in $1 bills. 

The Indians showed implicit faith in the police; 
and, without wishing in any way to discredit the 
men of the Indian Bureau who actually did the 
paying, I must say that I have seen many an In- 
dian emerge from the tent where he had been paid, 
clutching a handful of bills, and make a beeline for 
the first Red Coat, saying "Tonah?" — that is, 
"How much?" The constable would count the 
bills, tell the amount, and the Indian would nod 
in approval and go his way, satisfied that he had 
received his due. 

One season I was delegated, with Constable 
Moffatt, to go to Fort Ellice, 117 miles away, on 
the Saskatchewan River, to get the treaty money, 
which had been brought there by boat from Win- 
nipeg. We took a four-in-hand wagon and pro- 
ceeded on our way. Not knowing just how long 
we might have to wait for the boat, we took ample 
provisions, among other things a half barrel of 
hardtack or sea biscuit, which came in very handy 
toward the end of our trip. 

About thirty Indians, who had been traveling 
on foot from God knows where, came upon us, 
asking for food. Their appearance was most 
heartrending, and I shall never forget the sight. 







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Sergeant 331 73 

They looked like a delegation from some grave- 
yard. There were men, women and children, with 
their eyes sunk back in their heads, and all with 
the look of despair about them. Their arms and 
legs were like broomsticks; they were starving. 
At first, we threw them a few pieces of hardtack, 
but imagine our feelings when we saw the men 
jump on the children to take away from them the 
few biscuits they were able to gather in the scram- 
ble. 

We took immediate steps to regulate these 
brutes. As a matter of fact, they were more like 
hungry wolves than human beings. My friend 
Moffatt, who knew some Cree, the language of 
these Indians, lined them up in a row. I took 
my post at one end with drawn revolver. They 
were told that I would shoot the first one who took 
a biscuit away from another. Then Moffatt gave 
them a biscuit each, and this he repeated until all 
of the children had had their fill. We then gave 
them the remaining biscuits and some other pro- 
visions and proceeded on our way. 

We found, upon our arival at Fort Ellice, that 
the money was awaiting us. It was contained in 
nine large wooden cases, and consisted of $246,000 
in $1 bills. We then secured some fresh bread 
and started on our return. We went leisurely, as 
the cases made quite a load for the horses. It took 
us, I believe, four or five days to come back. 
Every night we rolled ourselves in our blankets 
and slept soundly, never even keeping an eye open 



74 Sergeant 331 



to watch our treasure, showing what perfect se- 
curity had been brought to the country through 
the advent of the police force. 

One morning, at about 3 o'clock, we were star- 
tled by finding an Indian lying flat on the prairie, 
near our heads. We got up, showed him our rifles, 
and indicated to him the shortest way out of sight, 
and resumed our sleep. At about 5 A. M. he had 
returned and re-assumed his post. This time we 
utilized him. It was a frosty morning, and we had 
him build a huge fire, which looked decidedly good 
to us when we got up. We gave him his break- 
fast and he departed. We learned afterward that 
this Indian was known as "the crazy one." 

Indians who at first questioned the value of the 
white man's laws, and who doubted the good inten- 
tions of the Mounted Police toward them, soon 
learned the benefits that were to accrue to them 
from the protection intended for them as well as 
for all other inhabitants of the Territory. It was 
not long before many of them showed in different 
ways that they finally understood the merit of 
such laws, the decrees of which were thoroughly 
binding. 

One of the Indian practices was polygamy. Al- 
though many a pioneer missionary had for a num- 
ber of years labored among them, and tried to dis- 
suade them from the custom, it had been love's 
labor lost. 

An Indian who felt that his hunting and trap- 
ping ability was sufficient to do the providing did 



Sergeant 331 75 

not hesitate to take unto himself several wives. 
He sho'.ved his wealth also by the number of horses 
he owned. That, in fact, was the real coat-of-arms 
that denoted a "top-notcher." When his children, 
who were sometimes quite numerous, grew up, it 
was customary for him to offer a number of horses 
as a dowry for each of his marriageable daughters. 
Some clever young buck would then give the pref- 
erence to the wealthy one, and would walk off 
with the bride and the horses, all in one operation. 
Some of the men of the force — a few, I must say 
— did fall for the charms of these sometimes pretty 
maidens, and married them Indian fashion. In 
some cases they retained them as their lawful 
wives, but in other cases, just as in civilized parts 
of our country, they discarded them without much 
further thought. The Indians knew of this failing 
of the white man (as well as of that of their own 
tribe) in this respect, and it was with this in mind 
that chief "Little Child" of the Saulteaux (who 
had taken quite a fancy to me ) , urged me to marry 
his daughter, a rather good-looking Indian girl, 
with the alluring offer of 22 good horses to go with 
the bride. He specified, however, that the wed- 
ding should be after the manner of the white man, 
before a police officer, with signed papers. In 
other words, he had recognized the white man's law 
of marriage as being proper protection for his 
daughter. I admired the motive of his offer very 
much, but as to accepting it, I deferred this for 
consideration. I am still considering. 



76 Sergeant 331 



The Marquis of Lome, who had married Her 
Royal Highness Princess Louise, the daughter of 
Queen Victoria, was at this time Governor Gen- 
eral of Canada. In view of the fact that the 
Northwest Territories were then under the con- 
trol of the Mounted Police, and considered abso- 
lutely safe for travel, the Government thought it 
advisable to have His Excellency take an extended 
trip through the lands. This was for the double 
purpose of meeting the Indians as the representa- 
tive of the Great Mother of whom they had heard 
so much, and of bringing that land of promise to 
the attention of all possible immigrants in the old 
country, where full reports, and numerous illus- 
trations by Remington, who accompanied the Gov- 
ernor in his travels, were sure to draw the interest 
of thousands. 

In due time the Marquis arrived at Fort Ellice, 
coming there by train and boat from Ottawa. 
From this place the police were to furnish him 
with the proper escort, not so much as a means of 
safety but more as an honor in keeping with the 
dignity of his exalted office, the highest in Canada. 

An escort of forty men, under Colonel William 
Herchmer, a superintendent of the force, left 
Qu'Appelle to meet the Marquis at Fort Ellice. 
They escorted him first to Fort Qu'Appelle, then 
northward through numerous small settlements on 
the way to Prince Albert, then to Battleford, and 
from there southward toward Calgary and Fort 
McLeod, eventually reaching Fort Shaw on the 



Sergeant 331 77 

American side of the line, where American officers 
took him in charge for safe return via the rail- 
road. 

At Crowfoot Crossing, not very far from Cal- 
gary, the Blackfeet tribe had prepared a most 
elaborate reception for the son-in-law of the Great 
Mother. There was a full meeting of these Indi- 
ans, probably 5,000 of them; and, after numerous 
displays of horsemanship, a buffalo dance, and 
other special ceremonies, which were all repro- 
duced by sketches from the facile brush of Rem- 
ington, a grand pow-wow or speechmaking event 
took place. 

I will give you now the only translation ever 
made of one of these speeches. However, before 
coming to this anecdote, I will say that Jerry 
Potts, of whom I have previously spoken in these 
pages, was the guide and interpreter of this expe- 
dition. In the course of his career he had been 
present and acted as interpreter at countless pow- 
wows of less importance than this one, and had 
become fully convinced of the inevitable finale of 
all, which, when summed up, meant, in his mind, 
but one thing — food. The Indians generally re- 
ceived a bag of flour, some beef and some tobacco, 
and, as a rule, they departed fully satisfied with 
the success of their mission. Jerrj^ Potts, you 
must remember, too, was a man who never used 
two words where one was sufficient. 

On this particular occasion, "Loud Voice," the 
orator of the Blackfeet — well chosen on account 



78 Sergeant 331 

of his stature of over six feet, and his stentorian 
voice, of the capacity and quality of that of a 
Bryan — was to deliver the oration. Facing him, 
in the center of the circle, sat His Excellency, and 
on his right Colonel Herchmer, commandant of 
the escort, with Jerry Potts at his elbow. 

The speech began at a "mile-a-minute-Murphy" 
speed. After listening attentively for about 15 
minutes, the Marquis motioned the Indian to stop, 
and inquired through Colonel Herchmer for an 
interpretation of the speech so far, saying that the 
interpreter would not remember all if it went on 
without interruption. Jerry Potts simply replied, 
"Let him go on." They let him go on, to be inter- 
rupted three or four times again, but always with 
the same result. The Marquis finally gave up 
further attempts at premature translation. "Loud 
Vioice" spoke for fully one hour and a half, at the 
end of which time he sat down at the sound of 
thousands of "how-hows" on the part of the other 
Indians present, signifying their concurrence in 
what he had said. 

All heads were now turned toward Jerry Potts 
for a full interpretation of what must surely be a^ 
most interesting and complete statement. Colonel 
Herchmer again inquired of him what the Indian 
had said. Jerry Potts hesitated a moment, and 
then replied: "He said 'Grub.' " That sentence 
was the concrete analysis of the speech, so far as 
our blase friend was concerned, and no other trans- 
lation was ever produced, so far as I know. 



Sergeant 331 79 



The distance covered on this trip by men who 
started from Qu'Appelle, went the entire way and 
back to their post again, was quite considerable, 
We figured that it was approximately 2,000 miles, 
a great many of the horses covering the full trip 
also. 

A j'^oung companion of mine, named Jack 
Leader, who was an excellent marksman with a 
shotgun, was one of the escort, and was selected 
to accompany the Marquis on many little side 
trips taken en route for the sake of small game. 
Standing by the Marquis, Jack Leader rarely 
failed to bring to the ground any bird missed by 
the former. I have recently been very much inter- 
ested to learn that my former young friend, who 
is now known as old Jack Leader, filled the same 
post of trust near His Royal Highness the Prince 
of Wales on his recent trip through the Canadian 
West. 

I was at one time making a trip from Qu'Ap- 
pelle to File Hills, and from there to Touch- 
wood Hills, accompanied by Jack Leader, 
acting as escort to the Indian agent making treaty 
payments. We traveled in a buckboard. Leader 
always carrying a shotgun as well as his rifle and 
revolver. I had my sporting rifle, together with 
my other arms, neither of us being permitted to 
fire Government ammunition merely for sport. 

The distance from File Hills to Touchwood 
Hills was 52 miles. This was considered a pretty 
good day's work for a team, and, as we intended 



80 Sergeant 331 

to do this in one day, we agreed not to make any 
stops for the purpose of going after game — we 
would content ourselves with shooting only that 
which could be reached by our shots from the buck- 
board, Leader shooting at short range with his 
gun, and I trying to reach any other game with 
my rifle. 

Our intention was to secure game that we could 
exchange for fresh meat at the Indian reserve, 
which was under the supervision of McConnell, a 
former member of the force. We secured exactly 
52 pieces — ducks, prairie chickens and rabbits — 
one piece for every mile. This will show you how 
abundant the game was in those days of blissful 
happiness. As a rule, we refrained from shooting 
anything except for food, but sometimes we did 
shoot just for sport. 

I remember once, when, early in the spring (the 
ice on one of the seven Qu'Appelle lakes not yet 
having melted, and being covered with about eight 
inches of water), a large flock of pelicans passed 
over the barracks. I ran for my sporting rifle, and 
fired at one of the flock, which I succeeded only in 
wounding. The bird described an immense circle 
and finally alighted about one-eighth of a mile 
away on the lake. I started out to secure him. 
The water-covered ice was more slippery than 
ever, and I had serious trouble reaching the bird, 
which I did not wish to shoot again at such close 
range. On my approach, it rose up on its legs and 
made a plunge at me with its huge beak. I was 



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Sergeant 331 81 

forced to battle with it with the butt end of my 
rifle before I could lay my hands on it. This bird 
was of extreme dimensions, and when carried by 
the feet over my shoulder its tail feathers dragged 
in the water. An old Indian woman skinned it for 
me for the sake of the carcass, which she would eat, 
and I protected and safeguarded the skin by rub- 
bing into it arsenic secured from the hospital. 

When hung up on the wall, the skin measured 
eight feet from tip to tip of wing, and six feet six 
inches from back to end of tail. I presented it 
later to a member of the force whose uncle was 
the Government naturalist at the museum in 
Ottawa. It was to be preserved, and labeled with 
a recital of the incident — that is, when, where, and 
by whom shot. 

A few years ago, when on a trip to Ottawa with 
my wife, I went to the museum to show her the 
bird I had shot thirty years before. Unfortu- 
nately, however, the museum had just been moved 
to a new, magnificent building, and all the speci- 
mens were still cased up. We were unable, on 
this account, to see if it were there. 

White men's customs and habits, be they good 
or bad, are readily copied and imitated by almost 
all aborigines, and our Western Indians were no 
exception to the rule. They learned very soon, 
for instance, of New Year's calls among the 
whites, and this custom they proceeded to imitate. 
They were always highly pleased when any of the 
red-coated ones called on them. This was done, 



82 Sergeant 331 



usually, with the diplomatic idea of keeping up the 
good feeling existing between the Indians and the 
police. 

One day one of my young friends and I con- 
ceived the idea of making such a New Year's call 
upon several Indians at a Cree camp. I reminded 
my companion, just before entering one of the 
tepees, that if our call was welcome we were likely 
to be offered food of some sort, and I cautioned 
him not to make the mistake of refusing it, as that 
would be a positive insult to our host. Being thus 
well posted on the proper Indian etiquette, we 
entered boldly, and, as expected, we were well re- 
ceived by an Indian, his wife and daughter. The 
latter had an iron pot in the center of the tepee, 
filled with some stew, which seemed to them to be 
the proper article for this state occasion. We 
were both offered a plate of it, and, as previously 
agreed, we proceeded to eat, perhaps in a more 
gingerly manner than our host, but making the 
best show possible without exciting our friends' 
suspicions. 

Our call at an end, we left by the usual porthole 
of the tepee, when I remarked to my friend, "That 
was not bad stew, was it? I wonder what it was." 
"No," said he, "it was quite tasty. I presume it 
was rabbit." While asking the question, however, 
having suspicions of my own, my eyes had made a 
quick survey of the tepee surroundings. I replied 
to my friend that he was wrong, that the unused 
portion of the stew was still hanging up on the 



Sergeant 331 83 

tripod at the back of the tepee, a good-sized half 
carcass of an Indian dog, something midway be- 
tween a wolf and an Esquimo dog. My friend's 
quick eye verified the truth of my discovery and 
statement, and his stomach immediately verified 
my thought as to what impressions and tribula- 
tions his mind was undergoing. Strange to say, 
however, it did not affect me that way, perhaps on 
account of the fact that I had almost discounted 
the possibility beforehand. 



CHAPTER XII 

AS stated at the beginning of these pages, my 
object is to give a vivid idea to my readers 
of the everyday Hfe and the general details 
of a Mounted Policeman's duties; and, v^ath this 
in view, I do not hesitate to relate a great many in- 
cidents which may seem commonplace of them- 
selves, but which I hope will, as a whole, give the 
proper picture. Our work was so varied and so 
unexpected at times that no order, whether of mo- 
ment and serious, or at times light and even ludic- 
rous, ever surprised any of us. 

I was told, for instance, to go and get a crazy 
man who was roaming in the File Hills, some 
twenty miles away. No further information was 
given — neither name, location, nor other details. 
This man might have been a giant, it might have 
required a dozen men to subdue him in a paroxysm 
of insanity; but such trivial details never seemed 
to occur to the minds of the officers in command. 

I started out in a buckboard having seating ca- 
pacity for two, taking with me, in case of need, a 
pair of shackles and a pair of handcuffs, not stop- 

84 








'^•' ,15 ■ 

."*^a&BL^■\ 



.■«r 



i^ 






Sergeant 331 85 



ping to think how these were to be put on my man. 
It Wcas a case of catching the rat fii'st. 

Arriving at File Hills, I inquired of every In- 
dian or half-breed that I met if he knew or had 
seen a crazy man. I was sent from pillar to post, 
until I finally located my quarry by mere good 
luck. I found the man, one and a half times my 
size, wild-eyed, but apparently docile enough. I 
entered into a friendly conversation with my new- 
found chum. I remarked on the beauty of the 
weather, and such topics likely to awaken his ad- 
miration for Mother Nature. I then suggested 
that we might go for a ride, and he agreed. As he 
took his seat, I pulled out the shackles and hand- 
cuffs, and asked him if he knew what these were 
for. He replied in the negative, and I told him 
I would show him. 

That was a case when the hand needed to be 
quicker than the eye; and, swiftly passing the 
shackles under the foot bar of the buckboard, my 
man was secured by the feet. I repeated the oper- 
ation by passing the chain of the handcuffs around 
the iron seat guard on his side, and over his wrists, 
as a demonstration of what we did when we ar- 
rested any one. I jumped immediately to my seat, 
taking care to shift my revolver to the side farth- 
est from my neighbor. I then started a conver- 
sation which was entirely one-sided, and which I 
continued during the entire trip, in the hope of 
preventing my friend's docile temperament turn- 
ing into a belligerent one. 



86 Sergeant 331 

He seemed ill at ease at times, but apparently 
did not realize what was the matter with him. My 
method carried success with it. I arrived at the 
Qu'Appelle guard house with my prisoner, called 
out the sergeant in charge, handed him the keys to 
the irons, and said: "There is your prisoner." 
As usual in such cases, no questions were asked, 
and no information was vouchsafed as to "how." 

Men were at times sent on what appeared to be 
perilous and impossible undertakings. They were 
usually successful, but there was an unwritten law 
that prevented them from boasting, or even from 
telling the details or means selected to accomplish 
their work. This might make very interesting 
reading today. The only glory was in doing what 
they had started to do. 

I stated above that, on arriving at Qu'Appelle, 
we found preparations being made for the erec- 
tion of quarters. These had now been completed, 
the finishing touches being put on by a batch of 
recruits lately arrived. They had had the "privi- 
lege" granted them of plastering the chinks with 
mud and thatching the roof. All was now in or- 
der. A full report, covering all our activities in 
the building line, was sent to the proper authori- 
ties in Ottawa by Inspector Steele, the officer in 
command. 

It was not long after this that a request was 
received from Ottawa asking Inspector Steele to 
furnish the Government with a picture or a sketch 
of the place, as they were anxious to see how the 



Sergeant 331 87 

new post looked. I, in turn, was asked by Inspec- 
tor Steele if I could furnish a sketch — cameras or 
kodaks being unknown in our neighborhood. I re- 
plied that I would try, and, taking an ordinary 
pencil, and stretching myself on top of a hill, I 
drew what I believe to be the first picture made 
of the Qu'Appelle Valley. It was a crude and 
amateurish affair, but it found its way to the arch- 
ives of the Government. I made a duplicate of it 
for my friend Captain Duchesnay, who sent it to 
his mother, a well-to-do lady residing at Manoir, 
near Quebec. She very kindly had photographic 
copies made, and sent one down to her son. He 
gave me half a dozen of these, which I distributed 
to my family, and I am happy to have one copy 
today, which I have had reproduced, and which is 
included among the illustrations of this book. 



CHAPTER XIII 

IT was intense Winter when Inspector Steele, 
his flunkey (or valet), named Bob Mackey, a 
half-breed interpreter named Isbister, with 
myself as cook and secretary, started on a tour of 
all the reserves in the Qu'Appelle district. 

The object of our trip was to secure definite in- 
formation on a subject of an international charac- 
ter, which, strange as it may seem to my reader, 
I feel that I am not at liberty to divulge even now. 
Suffice to say that it involved the rectification of 
some wrong, and for that purpose I had to take 
down in writing, verbatim, the depositions of Indi- 
ans and half-breeds, wherever found. The cold 
being so intense, I was compelled to carry the nec- 
essary ink in a hard-rubber bottle, which at all 
times when not in use I kept in my clothes, very 
near my body, so as to prevent the ink from freez- 
ing and becoming useless. 

We selected the File Hills as our first place of 
investigation. Our mission seemed to have re- 
ceived a rather broad interpretation on the part of 

88 



^ Sergeant 331 89 

the Indians, and we were looked upon as the great 
"Misters Fix-it." We had come to rectify all 
wrongs, no matter what their nature, and it was 
through this misunderstanding that a young swain 
buck came to us to have his love affair straightened 
out. 

It seemed that the young lady in the case had 
changed her mind— the privilege of her sex — and 
had discarded her admirer without any attempt at 
returning his wooing gifts. Inspector Steele, who 
possessed a sense of humor at all times, saw in the 
occasion an interesting half hour, and instructed 
me to take down the evidence, which the young 
man proceeded to relate with all the earnestness 
of a witness in a capital case. It was hard work 
to keep our faces straight at times, but we man- 
aged it. Inspector Steele suggested to our depo- 
nent that it would be proper for us to hear the 
other side as well, and instructed him to bring his 
lady love into our presence. The latter readily 
appeared; and, after hearing her evidence, which 
tallied in most particulars with the first, and the 
further information that she loved some one else 
better, Inspector Steele intimated that, such be- 
ing the case, it was customary among white people 
to return all the gifts. 

The young woman agreed to this, and said she 
would do likewise. She then proceeded to lay 
before us a small looking-glass about an inch and 
a half square, a couple of brass rings covered with 
verdigris, a strip of red ribbon, and one or two 



90 Sergeant 331 

other items, the whole of a value of about five 
cents. Both the lovers expressed their entire sat- 
isfaction at the result, and peace reigned once 
more in the family. 

From here we went to Touchwood Hills. This 
was a trip across country, where there was no 
trail. As a matter of fact, there was about a foot 
of snow most of the way. We secured the services 
of an Indian chief guide named Star Blanket. 
Although the thermometer was registering thirty- 
five degrees below zero, this Indian wore only a 
cotton shirt, a pair of gaiters ( or trousers without 
seat) of the same material, a pair of cotton socks, 
moccasins, and a loose blanket over all. We ad- 
vised him to ^et on top of our loaded wagon, which 
he did. We had not gone three miles, however, 
when he complained of being cold, and said he 
preferred running afoot, as in so doing he would 
keep warm. He started ahead, and kept going all 
day at a jog trot. 

The air was misty, with a light, fluffy snow, and 
the sun was obscure. Once in a while, however, 
we saw a "sun dog." This is a winter phenomenon 
common in the North, which causes an illuminated 
spot to appear at a different angle than the sun, 
and has been the means of many a traveler losing 
his bearings. 

It seemed to us that our guide was gradually 
turning eastward ; but, trusting to his knowledge, 
we followed him blindly. At the end of the day, 
however, he admitted to us that he was lost, and 



Sergeant 331 91 

did not know where he was. We were rather in- 
censed, and told him he could go back in the morn- 
ing. We gave him a supply of hardtack, and he 
started to follow the trail that we had made, and 
eventually reached his camp. 

We then had recourse to our compasses, and laid 
our course to the northwest, where we hoped to 
find Touchwood Hills. We had taken but one 
day's provisions, and found ourselves compelled 
to crush and keep the few hardtack we had to feed 
our horses. Rice in a very small quantity was all 
we had left. We economized by each eating only 
one-half a cup a day. This lasted for two days, 
and the following two days we had nothing but 
"wind pudding." At last, however, we found a 
trail which led us to a way station kept by a half- 
breed. We were famished, and were all anxious 
to put in a substantial meal as soon as it could be 
prepared. I was as hungry as any one of the 
party, but having had a previous experience of 
the same sort, I warned my young friend Bob 
Mackey to be careful and to eat but one bite at 
first, masticating it carefully and then swallowing 
it before eating more. He would have none of 
this. He was going to eat everj^thing in sight, and 
that as quickly as he could — and he did. The re- 
sult was that inside of fifteen minutes we had a 
very sick man on our hands, and for a time we 
feared we should lose him. Happily, he weathered 
the ordeal. 

We were to have further trials on this trip. We 



92 Sergeant 331 

left Touchwood Hills at about 4 o'clock P. ]M., 
so as to reach the edge of the Big Salt Plain, which 
is about fifty miles wide, and be ready to cross this 
in the morning. We arrived at our camping place 
at about 7 P. M., but just as we did we broke 
one of our sleighs or jumpers. It could not be 
repaired, so the interpreter, Isbister, and myself 
were instructed to leave at 2 A. M. and go back 
on our trail until we reached a Touchwood Hills 
settlement, where we had noticed a double sleigh. 

At this ungodly hour, and in absolute darkness, 
we started with one horse. Turn about, Isbister 
and I would walk in front of the horse, so as to 
feel rather than see the trail, while the other rode. 
We had put the harness collar on the horse, so as 
to be able to harness him to the sleigh when we 
found it. We finally located the article, but were 
informed by the half-breed owner, whom we had 
roused from a sound sleep, that he had no desire 
to sell the sleigh. We told him that nevertheless 
we were going to take it, and we left him a blank 
voucher, some of which we always carried with us, 
and instructed him to fill in the price and collect 
at the police station in Qu'Appelle upon his first 
visit. 

We returned to camp at 7 A. M. After 
taking time to eat a substantial breakfast, we 
started across the plain. We walked and ran the 
entire distance beside our sleighs, and arrived 
about 7 P. M. on the other edge, where wood 
could be secured for a camp fire. We camped 



Sergeant 331 93 

there that night, and the next morning left for 
Qu'Appelle. 

We had not gone very far when we noticed, at 
some distance, two separate teams, each repeated- 
ly describing a large circle. We approached them 
and found that their drivers, two settlers coming 
into the country, were almost frozen. The ther- 
mometer was then about fifty degrees below zero. 
The men were absolutely incapable of driving 
their horses, and the animals, of their own account, 
had been going in the circles that we had noticed. 
We took charge of them and brought them back 
to Fort Qu'Appelle, where they were treated and 
revived at the hospital. 

We had all lost weight on this trip, but not so 
on the next, which we undertook about a week 
afterward. This time we started for Moose 
Mountain, distant about eighty miles in a south- 
westerly direction from Fort Qu'Appelle. Hav- 
ing had our experience on the last trip, I was in- 
structed by Inspector Steele to take double rations 
this time, as we did not intend to starve again. 
I provided for this, and the same quartet started 
out once more, with the thermometer at thirty-five 
degrees below zero. 

The weather was clear, and we had a fair 
amount of snow on the ground, so that traveling 
was comparatively easy. At night we would put 
up a small tent, in the middle of which we set 
up a tin stove, which made it fairly comfortable 
— that is, provided we kept all our clothing on, in- 



94 Sergeant 331 

eluding our short buffalo overcoats. I remem- 
ber how we used to sit tailor-fashion around that 
stove, and in turn Inspector Steele and the rest 
of us would swap yarns; and 1 can assure you 
that Inspector Steele was as good a fellow travel- 
er as anyone could ever wish to have. Although 
a strict disciplinarian when occasion demanded it, 
he could be "one of the boys," too, when the time 
was ripe for it. 

We were on our way to the Indian reserve, and 
on the last morning we still had about twelve 
miles to go. The morning was a real biting one, 
every branch of the underbrush and everything 
else in sight being covered with frost. It was 
customary for one of us, in our turn, to go out 
early, before our party actually made a start, and 
skirmish around with the idea of finding the best 
direction. 

This morning it was my turn; and, knowing 
that we had only a few more miles to go, I thought 
it advisable to relieve mj^self of the weight of my 
heavy revolver and belt of ammunition, which I 
strapped to my jumper, where I already had my 
carbine. Thus lightened, I started ahead to locate 
a road. 

About three or four hundred yards from the 
camp, which was hidden from my sight through 
the underbush, I came upon a small lake — frozen, 
of course. This I started to cross, when my at- 
tention was attracted to a mound, almost in the 
middle. The excrescence on the smooth ice was 



Sergeant 331 Of) 



unusual, and my curiosity, together with the idea 
that perhaps it was someone who was lost and 
was freezing to death, drew me in that direction. 
When about twenty-five feet from the mound, 
which was all covered with snow, I noticed a regu- 
lar, up-and-down heaving, denoting that there was 
life underneath. I was sure that I had found a 
human being — nothing else was in my mind. But 
for one instant only ! The thumping of my moc- 
casins on the ice had suddenly awakened an im- 
mense wolf, with a head on him which to me 
seemed, at that moment, the size of a lion's. Even 
the animal was startled, and showed it with star- 
ing eyes and open mouth. I was more than 
startled — I realized in the fraction of a second 
that I was unarmed! 

There was no time to spare to figure out what, 
according to Hoyle, was the best thing to do 
in the circumstances. Quick as a flash I spread 
my arms as wide as I could, and yelling like a 
Comanche I dashed toward the foe. It worked! 
The wolf turned tail and ran, and so did I — in 
the opposite direction, until I reached my belt 
and revolver, which I buckled on, vowing never 
again to take any chances. 

When nearing our destination we were sur- 
prised to notice that a beautiful deer, with very 
broad antlers, had been following us for at least 
two miles, at a distance of not more than one 
hundred yards. Suddenly, however, it took fright, 
and started away from us in the opposite direc- 



96 Sergeant 331 

tion. It seemed to bound ten feet into the air at 
each leap, and disappeared from our sight in less 
than three minutes. We might have shot the 
animal a dozen times, but it was not our policy 
to destroy game when it was not necessary. 

Upon our arrival at the reserve we proceeded 
to take the usual evidence, and in the course of 
so doing I came to the hut of an old French half- 
breed, who proved to be one hundred and four 
years of age. He did not wear glasses and seemed 
to possess all of his faculties in good form. I 
tested his memory and the accuracy of his age by 
having him relate to me his early history, when he 
had helped build some of the extreme Northerly 
posts of the Hudson's Bay Company. The fact 
that I wore the red uniform, but nevertheless 
could speak his language, seemed to appeal to 
him greatly; and, through this, I was able to se- 
cure from him some valuable information in re- 
gard to the early history of the land. 

When we left to return to Fort Qu'Appelle the 
thermometer was still hovering between thirty- 
five and fifty-two degrees below zero, as it had 
been during the whole trip. Owing to the glare 
of the sun on the snow we were compelled to 
blacken our eyes with charcoal, in order to pre- 
vent snow-blindness, a very annoying and painful 
affliction, which may last three or four weeks. As 
a rule we were provided with either colored or 
smoked goggles for just such emergencies; but in 
the extreme cold we found that the metallic rims 



Sergeant 331 97 



of the glasses were likely to freeze to our faces, 
and for this reason we preferred the use of the 
charcoal from the camp fires, which was just as 
effective. 

Another thing which seemed simple enough, 
but which was always important to know on these 
trips, was how to melt snow to make tea. Almost 
everyone will say: "Why, anyone can do that." 
But it is not so, as some of us learned from experi- 
ence. We found that by heating a kettle or tin 
pail red hot, and putting the snow in, the snow 
immediately became smoked, and the resultant 
water was as bitter as creosote, and unfit to drink. 
Gentle heat onty should be applied to the bottom 
of the pail, the snow having first been placed in 
it. As long as water covers the bottom, you may 
apply as much heat as you will, but not before. 

This trip had been a very cold one, all the way ; 
but this did not seem to hurt us very much. As a 
matter of fact, I gained ten pounds on the trip, 
which lasted three weeks. 



CHAPTER XIV 

IT was not long after this that I was promoted 
to the rank of Corporal, but I still continued 
to fulfill the duties of Clerk of the Court. 

Colonel Richardson, one of the three stipendi- 
ary magistrates of the Territories, held court here 
and there, travelling almost all of the time. This 
brought him around to Fort Qu'Appelle about 
once every three months. 

From the fact that I kept the court records, 
many of the would-be litigants, mainly half- 
breeds, looked upon me more or less as a legal 
man and sought my advice as such. In nearly 
every case, my advice to them was to settle out 
of court. This was so well followed that at one 
time — when I had, I believe, seventeen cases on 
the calendar — I managed to clear every one of 
them within ten minutes of court opening time. 
I scurried around and found an old pair of white 
cotton gloves, which I presented to Colonel Rich- 
ardson at the opening of the court, stating that I 
knew that such was a custom in the East when- 

98 



Sergeant 331 99 



ever a magistrate had a blank calendar, only that 
the gloves should be kid instead of cotton. The 
jovial, short old Colonel seemed very much 
amused and pleased at the incident. 

Surveying parties of the Canadian Pacific Rail- 
way were quite numerous in our neighborhood at 
that time, and most of them were on very friendly 
and intimate terms with the Mounted Police, from 
whom they had received help on many occasions. 
With the possible idea of repaying something in 
kind, one of these men gave some confidential in- 
formation to Inspector Steele, hoping thereby 
to secure some benefit from it. 

Inspector Steele sent for Sergeant Johnson and 
myself and imparted his knowledge to us. After 
proper consultation, Johnson and I left n.t 5 
P. M. with a vagon, carrying a couple of axes, 
some logging chains and a few provisions. We 
were ostensibly going to Fort Ellice on a special 
errand. As a matter of fact, however, we were 
going thirty-five miles down the Qu'Appelle Val- 
ley to Ross'. We were to leave there at about 
2 A. M., go about three miles farther, then 
suddenly leave the valley, go over the plateau 
south of it, and down the next valley at a place 
which had been surveyed, and which was to be 
known shortly after as Wolsey, a station on the 
Canadian Pacific Railway. 

We did as directed, and as soon as we reached 
the edge of the woods my friend Johnson started 
to chop down trees. As fast as I would locate the 



100 Sergeant 331 

necessary quarter section, he would haul the trees 
onto the ground, thus securing for us, with the 
first improvement, the right to enter this home- 
stead at the land office, whenever the latter 
opened. We managed so to locate about one 
dozen quarter sections — and this in a snowstorm, 
which necessitated the use of the compass to find 
our camp at dusk. We ^vere dumbfounded to find 
that, suspicious of our movements, quite a num- 
ber of other people had kept an eye on us as soon 
as they discovered our errand, and they began to 
locate the land as well as ourselves. 

We returned to Fort Qu'Appelle after three or 
four days, and were just in time to hear read to 
us, as well as to all other members of the force, an 
order issued from headquarters in accordance with 
instructions from Sir John A. MacDonald, the 
Prime Minister, to the effect that no member of 
the police force would be allowed to enter a home- 
stead. This order has rankled in my soul ever 
since ; and even after the thirty-seven years which 
have elapsed, I still cannot but protest against the 
palpable injustice of it. Men who had given up 
all pleasures of civilization, who had undergone 
all the hardships of pioneering life in a country 
devoid of all luxuries, who had endured the miser- 
ies and dangers of Winter trips as well as dangers 
of other kinds, for the purpose of making the 
country safe and secure for the settler and immi- 
grant, were themselves denied tKe privilege 
granted to any stranger. 






2 S p r 




Sergeant 331 101 



Within recent years I read with satisfaction of 
a measure presented before Parliament by Repre- 
sentative Martin — now, I believe, the Provincial 
Prime Minister at Regina — which had for its pur- 
pose the recognition of the services of the early 
members of the Mounted Police force. Nothing, 
however, seems to have come of it. In any case, 
I believe there is but a handful of these men left. 

Doctor Hohnes, a staff sergeant in chr.rge of 
the hospital, was at this time called to Fort Mc- 
Leod, to give his evidence against a Blackfoot 
Indian, who was shortly to be put on trial for the 
murder of Constable Grayburn — Holmes having 
been the doctor who had performed the post 
mortem on Grayburn at the time of his murder at 
Fort Walsh. This meant that the trip to Mc- 
Leod, a distance of five hundred miles, would 
leave the entire contingent at Fort Qu'Appelle 
without a medical attendant. 

Inspector Steele asked me to take charge in 
the interval. This I agreed to do, provided I was 
not requested to administer medicine. I might 
advise anyone in case of need, but I would have 
been afraid to give him even a glass of water for 
fear that I should be blamed for any ill results. 
Every morning, at sick call, all those who did not 
feel just right would parade for medical inspec- 
tion. Without being a medical man, I had had 
enough experience to be able to class my patients 
for duty or otherwise. A look into their eyes, a 
look at their tongues, a feel of the pulse and a 



102 Sergeant 331 

test of the temperature were quite sufficient to tell 
me whether the case was real or feigned sickness. 

It happened that one man, named Haines, came 
once too often for his own good. I had given him 
the benefit of the doubt once or twice; but this 
time I was quite positive of my diagnosis, and I 
informed Inspector Steele that the next morning 
I was going to cure this man with medicine. He 
said to me, "What is the matter with him?" I said, 
"Lazy." "All right," said he, "I don't care what 
you do to him." The following morning I dis- 
missed everyone but him. I questioned him mi- 
nutely and then gave him a concoction v/hich he 
at first declined to take, saying he had just par- 
taken of his breakfast. I insisted, however, on his 
taking it, with the alternative of going to the 
guard house for feigned sickness. He took the 
medicine — and he never came near the hospital 
again. For two or three days he was very active. 
It certainly put new vigor into him. 

Strange to say, I was the only man who was 
taken down seriously ill. I developed an abscess 
near my throat, and was threatened with blood 
poisoning, when it happened that a young doctor, 
who had just come to the country to settle, passed 
near Qu'Appelle. He was sent for, and upon 
his arrival he applied the knife immediately. The 
relief was instant, but the muscles of my jaws had 
become so rigid that for six weeks I was unable to 
open my mouth, even wide enough to put the 
blade of a knife between my teeth. I was reduced 



Sergeant 331 103 

to a diet of cocoa and bouillon for almost two 
months. However, I fully recovered in due time, 
and was able to perform two or three operations, 
serious enough, on some of the men, one upon an 
Indian prisoner, and even one upon one of our 
horses. Doctor Holmes was away fully a year. 
Meanwhile, we retained this new young doctor, 
who finally located at Qu'Appelle for good. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE Canadian Pacific Railway was now 
south of us, and had gone even a little 
farther west, when we received orders to 
remove the entire division to a place on the 
prairie about thirty-five miles northwest of 
Qu'Appelle. The last vestige of even a small 
tree was about ten miles west of Qu'Appelle, so 
that, when we arrived at the spot indicated, there 
was nothing but the bare, level prairie and a few 
tents erected here and there. There was not a 
drop of water in sight, but there was the dry bed 
of an old creek known as Waskanna, or Pile-Of- 
Bones creek. This place was indeed one of the 
dreariest I had ever lived in, and we were all more 
than astonished when told that it was to be the 
capital, and had been christened Regina, by Her 
Royal Highness, Princess Louise, wife of the 
Governor-General. 

We had hardly arrived at the place when port- 
able buildings, sixteen by forty-eight feet, one and 
one-half stories in height, were unloaded from 

104> 



Sergeant 331 105 

freight cars which had come from Ottawa. These 
were to be our quarters, and we proceeded at once 
to erect them. As soon as the first one was partly 
up, I ordered the workmen to put in the windows 
at each end of the upper story. 'When this was 
done, I removed to the upper story all of the 
papers and documents of the office which was in 
my charge — said office, up to that time, having 
been under a marquee tent. I installed myself in 
the place with my cot, and thus I secured the honor 
of being the first man who slept under a solid roof 
in what is today one of the prettiest and best 
cities of the Canadian West and the capital of 
Saskatchewan. This building was still standing 
three years ago and was the second from the guard 
room where Riel was incarcerated, awaiting his 
execution. 

We had been in Regina a few months when 
word was received from Qu'Appelle station, on 
the C. P. R., that an old settler had been found 
murdered, and the police dragnet was immediate- 
ly spread to apprehend the murderer. Nothing 
but robbery could have been the motive, and we 
worked on this theory, with the result that a 
young renegade Indian, who usually masquer- 
aded as a half-breed, under the name of Johnson, 
was arrested and brought to Regina for prelimi- 
nary examination and commitment. 

His entire family, which bore an unsavory repu- 
tation, was present at court. As Clerk of the 
Court, I took down the deposition in long hand, 



106 Sergeant 331 



stenographers being an unknown luxury in our 
neighborhood at that tune. Colonel Herchmer 
presided as Justice of the Peace. While the 
prisoner's brother, a larger man than he, was tes- 
tifying, I noticed by the glaring light of a sun ray 
shining on his trousers that these seemed smeared 
with a brownish tint. It looked like blood to me, 
and I was so impressed that I communicated my 
suspicion to the presiding officer, who told me to 
place this man under arrest as soon as he had fin- 
ished giving his evidence. Tdid so and placed both 
brothers in the guard house in separate cells. 

They remained there for some months, when 
they were eventually tried by Colonel Richardson 
and a jury, which returned a verdict of guilty, in 
each case. They were sentenced to be executed by 
hanging. They both denied their guilt almost to 
the last, apparently not being convinced that the 
sentence was to be carried out. In despair, an old 
missionary, who had tried in vain for the men's con- 
version, begged the officer in command at Regina 
to have these men's coffins brought in front of their 
cells so as to convince them. This was done, and 
the men then confessed that together they had 
murdered the poor old soul for his money, which 
after all they had not secured, for the sum of $110 
was found on the body, sewed up on the inside of 
the undershirt. This was later delivered to the old 
settler's relatives from Eastern Canada. These 
men paid the penalty, and were, so far as I know, 
the first to be legally executed in the Territory. 



Sergeant 331 107 



It had been the custom to pay the men of the 
force by means of Government checks. In many 
cases this meant that checks of ridiculous amounts 
were sometimes drawn, as the small salary of a 
constable was often reduced through different 
charges, such as extra supplies, or fines, etc. In 
some instances, through necessity caused by red 
tape, checks for one, two or three cents had to be 
drawn. Men receiving such checks would very 
often frame them as curiosities, and two or three - 
years afterwards a request would come from Ot- 
tawa asking us to have these checks presented for 
payment. They might as well have asked for the 
moon in a pail of water. 

I suggested that a single check be drawn to 
cover the entire monthly salaries, and the cash se- 
cured from one of the banks which had now been 
established in Regina. The Government consent- 
ed to this, and thereafter each month I would 
mount my horse and, fully armed, I would ride to 
the bank with a leather pouch to secure the cur- 
rency. I always took good care when returning 
to select a new route each time. This worked very 
well until a few months after I had left Regina, 
when the customary courier forgot the route one 
day and started instead for the international boun- 
dary. I am not aware whether this defaulter was 
ever arrested or not. 

A newspaper called "The Regina Leader," the 
first one in the place, was started by Nicholas 
Flood Davin, a florid, white-haired man of excep- 



108 Sergeant 331 

tional ability and forceful temperament. From 
the very start it was successful. The paper is still 
in existence, and its home is now a beautiful build- 
ing in the heart of the city. I was privileged to 
call there three years ago, when I had an interview 
with the present editor. 

Davin made it a point to look after the welfare 
of Regina, and among the undesirable things he 
uncovered and brought to the public notice was 
the fact that liquor was allowed in the city. Upon 
this coming to the attention of the authorities in 
Ottawa, Colonel Herchmer received a dispatch ad- 
vising him to have the traffic stopped immediately. 
I was at that time in charge of the division office, 
and therefore not subject to ordinary duties; but 
I was requested by the Colonel to go down to the 
town and take charge, and stop the whiskey traffic. 

There was only one line of telephone in the coun- 
try at that time, and that ran from the mounted 
police headquarters to the police station in Regina, 
a distance of three miles. I proceeded downtown, 
where I took charge, having two constables with 
me — one named Asprey and the other named Brin- 
ner. I had been there just fifteen days when I 
inquired from Asprey if he could get me a bottle 
of whiskey. He said he could and he did. I then 
inquired who had supplied him, and he named a 
friend of his. I sent for this man and secured from 
him the name of the man who had supplied him, 
and in turn secured the names of fifteen in all. 
These I placed under arrest, with the exception 



Sergeant 331 109 

of the first one. I then telephoned to Colonel 
Herchmer for a four-in?hand wagon, and when I 
told him it was for fifteen prisoners he simply 
gasped, and thought there must have been a riot. 
The prisoners pleaded guilty, and all paid the 
usual fine of $200 each — in one case, $400 for a 
second offense. This ended liquor in Regina for 
some time. 



CHAPTER XVI 

I HAD the supervision of several stations along 
the Canadian Pacific Railway running from 
Broadview to Moose Jaw. The road, by this 
time, had reached the Rockies, and trouble cropped 
up now and then among the constructing forces. 
This time trouble had broken out at Moose Jaw 
among the operating and constructing forces, and 
the superintendent of the division had telegraphed 
to Mounted Police headquarters, stating that, if 
he could steal away with a locomotive and one car. 
he would do so, and requested us to have a force 
in readiness. 

I had become a sergeant, although I was then 
only twenty-three years of age, and as such was 
told to select thirty-five men of my own choice and 
be ready for action. I selected the biggest men 
we had, so as to make the best impression; and. 
the car having arrived, we boarded it for Moose 
Jaw. 

We arrived there at about nine P. M., and be- 
fere crossing a wooden bridge near the station we 

110 



Sergeant 331 111 



examined carefully all the woodwork, to make 
sure that none of the tmibers had been cut. Upon 
arriving at the station, we found about 400 men, 
who were intent on stopping what they thought 
was a mail train. Their astonishment was un- 
bounded when they saw our men emerge with re- 
volvers and Winchesters, ready for business. I 
issued an order, which I signed, and which the 
superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Railway 
division had countersigned, to the effect that no 
one would be allowed on the grounds of the Cana- 
dian Pacific Railway. My men, therefore, pro- 
ceeded to clear the premises with loaded carbines 
in hand. 

For the next fifteen days we had some trouble, 
such as engines being thrown off the switch ; soap 
put in the water of the tank, resulting in foam 
instead of steam coming out; eccentrics discon- 
nected, and other minor troubles. Eventually, 
however, the disturbing element died out, and 
things became normal again. 

Our men took charge of some of the mail trains 
and ran them from Winnipeg clear to the Rockies. 
It was strange, but our force seemed to possess 
men who could do almost anything when the oc- 
casion demanded it. 

It was about a year after this time, when call- 
ing on my friend Captain Duchesnay, that I 
was introduced to a gentleman who said that he 
had met me before. I stated that he had the ad- 
vantage of me. "Well," he said, "I met you last 



112 Sergeant 331 



year, but we were not on the same side of the 
fence." He had been one of the strikers. I men- 
tioned to him that I had anticipated a great dea] 
of trouble, and had been surprised at having so 
little. He replied, "Do you know the reason 
why?" I said, "No, I do not." "Well," he re- 
plied, "because you were there." I then laughed 
and said I did not think I looked so formidable. 
"No," said he, "just the reverse. Every one of 
your men looked big and strong enough to throw 
you over a car if they had been so inclined, but 
nevertheless, you said one or two words, and im- 
mediately they moved like machines. We con- 
cluded that where such discipline existed, it were 
better for us to mind our Ps and Qs." The rigid 
Mounted Police discipline had once more pre- 
vented trouble and won the da3\ 

I had now completed my term of service, and 
I signified to Major Walsh the fact that I in- 
tended to leave the force. He suggested that I 
should accept a position with Superintendent 
Shields of the Canadian Pacific Railway, who had 
requested the Major to recommend to him some 
one who could act in a confidential capacity. Ac- 
cording to arrangement, I joined Superintendent 
Shields in his private car and traveled with him 
from Regina to Medicine Hat while he explained 
to me what would be the nature of my duties. 

When the position was fully detailed, I realized 
that I sliould be expected to do a lot of gum- shoe- 
ing and spying on everybody in sight. I informed 



^- :\ -. 



T 



^J:Vi 



S"^ 







Sergeant 331 113 



Superintendent Shields immediately that he had 
the wrong man, and that my nature would revolt 
against such work. I got off his car at Medicine 
Hat, and there I called on Sergeant Pearcy, an 
old friend in charge of that post. Pearcy urged 
me to think the matter over, saying that I ought 
to remain with the force at least another year. 
This I finally agreed to do, provided that Colonel 
Irving, who was then the Commissioner of the 
force, would allow me to retain my rank, and with 
the understanding that I should be stationed at 
Fort McLeod, which was considered the most de- 
sirable post in the country. 

I telegraphed to Colonel Irving, stating these 
facts, with a request for a prompt answer. There 
was a train due for the East within two hours, and 
this I intended to take if his answer were unfavor- 
able. Within one hour I received a reply read- 
ing: "Report at Fort McLeod; this will be your 
authority." Accordingly, I started on the next 
Western train for Calgary on my way to Mc- 
Leod. Upon arriving at Calgary, I met Captain 
Cotton, the officer in command at McLeod, and 
showed him my telegram. I also met Inspector 
Steele, who was on his way to the end of the 
Canadian Pacific Railway line in the Rockies, and 
who wanted me to go with him. He tried to in- 
duce me to telegraph again to Colonel Irving, re- 
questing authority to join Steele. This I de- 
clined to do, as it might have reflected on me in 
an unfavorable way. Captain Cotton and In- 



114 Sergeant 331 



spector Steele had to do the debating as to where 
I should go. Captain Cotton won, and I pro- 
ceeded to McLeod, in the company of Doctor and 
Mrs. Kennedy, who were going there also. 

We arrived there on the third day from Calgary, 
at about nine P. M., and I reported to Sergeant 
Major Bradley, an old companion of Fort Walsh 
and Fort Qu'Appelle. After a few words of con- 
versation, I inquired if he had a good trooper for 
me. He said we would go to the stables and see. 
With lantern in hand we proceeded to examine all 
the horses, and having found what I thought was 
the finest looking horse in the place and likely to 
be the commanding officer's charger, I laughingly 
said, "I will take this one." I was astonished to 
be told that I could have him. I remarked at 
once, as did the man presented with a cigar, "What 
is the matter with him?" Bradley assured me 
there was nothing wrong with him, and that the 
horse was an excellent one. I felt that there was 
a nigger in the wood pile, but my pride was 
piqued and I said I would take him no matter 
what was wrong with him. He inquired when I 
would ride him, and I said the next morning, and 
we then retired. 

The next morning, as promised, I proceeded 
to saddle my new mount, and found him extremely 
nervous and shy. I brought him out and found 
that my friend Bradley was the onty man in sight. 
I inquired as to where the others were, and I 
guessed that they were all hiding, ready to see 



Sergeant 331 115 



the exhibition at the proper time. I was right in 
my surmise. 

As soon as I put my left foot in the stirrup, my 
beautiful horse went up in the air, ready to fall 
backwards. I swung to the right, and alighted 
as he came down. By this time twenty-five heads 
came out from different corners where they were 
watching. I proceeded to make much of the 
animal. I petted him and fed him some sugar, 
and again prepared to mount. I realized that he 
was extremely sensitive in the mouth, and took 
care not to j erk him on the bit. This time he was 
a little more resigned, and he walked away from 
the fort gently enough. He had gone hardly one 
hundred yards, however, when he took the bit and 
bolted. 

I had spurs on, and a whip in hand, and I made 
up my mind that I could go as far as he could, 
so I let him run for fully ten miles, when he be- 
gan to show signs of letting up. Now was my 
time to give him a lesson, and I plied the whip, 
and later the spurs, bringing him back to the fort 
one mass of foam, and nearly exhausted. I re- 
peated this operation about three or four days in 
succession, when mj^ horse, Chester, gave it up as 
a bad job, and from that time on he became one 
of the greatest pets at the fort. There was quite 
a scramble as to who should get him, when I left 
Fort McLeod a year after. 

Fort McLeod had formerly been built at the 
bottom of the valley, with the Old Man's River 
running on one side. One fine morning, however, 



116 Sergeant 331 

owing to a rise in the river, the latter changed its 
course, and was now running on both sides of the 
fort. Fearing the possibility of being washed 
away altogether, the authorities decided to aban- 
don the old place and built new quarters on the 
edge of the plateau, overlooking the valley on one 
side. This was one of the first police posts that 
was built without a stockade around it. 

We had here two nine-pounder field pieces, and 
one day we thought it might be advisable to 
demonstrate our ability with these to the Black- 
feet Indians, just for the moral effect. Accord- 
ingly, we sent them notice that, on a given date, 
we were going to shoot the big guns. 

This news drew the Indians to the spot. Ser- 
geant Spicer, Sergeant O'Connor and myself 
were to shoot three or four rounds each, and we 
tossed up a penny to see who should have the first 
shot. Spicer won. Right across the valley stood 
a lone, dead tree, midway up the bank. This tree 
had a large trunk, and Spicer decided that it 
would be an excellent target for a common shell 
which would explode on contact — as, in the case 
of a miss, it would in any event raise an immense 
cloud of earth, and that would carry some mental 
effect with it. He aimed carefully and fired. It 
was one shot in a hundred. He had cut the fork 
branch, and raised an enormous amount of earth. 
We rang down the curtain. The strongest im- 
pression had been made, and we would not spoil it 
with a second shot. The Indians went home 
wondering. 



CHAPTtER XV:iI 

THE dry season of the Summer was one which 
always carried with it the danger of prairie 
fires. Sometimes these were caused by care- 
less campers, sometimes by lightning. In any 
event, when smoke appeared in the distance an 
investigation was always in order. 

One night, at about eleven o'clock, the alarm 
was sounded, and within ten minutes about twen- 
ty men were at a gallop towards the flames, south- 
west of McLeod, each man having a gunny sack 
or bacon bag in hand, which was to be thoroughly 
soaked in water in the first pond on the way. The 
flames, which at night seemed to be some tM^o or 
three miles away, proved to be fully twenty miles 
off. The prairie was being burnt up in strips. 
Our men dismounted, and, leaving their horses in 
charge of one man, started to beat out the fire. 

In case the wind changed, the alarm was to be 
sounded, when everybody was to run for his horse. 
The wind did turn. It meant that the long grass 
would catch fire, and would become very danger- 

117 



118 Sergeant 331 

ous, and a desperate run took place. In running, 
the men created a draft, which in some cases over- 
took them. One of them had to throw himself 
flat on the ground, but his hair and eyebrows went 
up in smoke. Another one lost all the hair on 
the back of his head, which was singed off while 
he was running up a slope. 

We finally got the best of the fire, and came 
back to the fort at about 5 A. M., a sorry look- 
ing lot — eyes red, faces blackened, and the soles 
of our shoes nearly burned off. At 5.30 A. M. 
reveille sounded, and we answered the call as 
usual. 

Some time after this, while on duty about two 
or three miles out on the prairie, I was stricken 
suddenly with terrible pains around the heart, and 
I dispatched my only companion to the fort to 
Doctor Kennedy, with the information that I was 
suffering from some kind of heart trouble. He 
sent a buckboard out in haste, and brought me in. 
On examination he informed me that I was suffer- 
ing from a very serious attack of pleurisy, and 
said that I should have come to him three or four 
days before. As a matter of fact, I had felt some- 
thing wrong, but had tried to fight it off. I lost 
at the game, however, and found myself in the 
hospital, a very sick boy. I lay there for over a 
month, but eventually fully recovered, thanks to 
the very kind attention I received at the hands of 
Mrs. A. Bowen Perry, the very gentle little wife 
of Inspector Perry, who is now, and for a great 



Sergeant 331 119 

many years has been, the Commissioner of the 
Force. Mrs. Perry prepared bouillon, jellies and 
other delicacies which she thought might appeal 
to me, and I have felt indebted to her ever since. 

I had hardly recovered, and was still somewhat 
wobbly, when Inspector Perry, together with Mr. 
Gault of Ottawa, suggested that I accompany 
them to the Crow's Nest Pass, where they were 
going for a short shooting excursion. This, they 
said, would help me. In a very short time I was 
ready, bag and baggage. We traveled by wagon 
to the entrance of the Rockies. In passing 
through the foot-hills we would at one minute feel 
the extreme heat, and within the next few mo- 
ments we would get the cold draft from the moun- 
tain snow — ^this alternating all the way to the 
liead of the Old Man's River, where we camped. 

The water of the river came from under a ledge, 
and leaped down some fifty or sixty feet, like a 
sheet of crystal. Through thousands of years it had 
dug a basin thirty to forty feet deep in the solid 
rock, from which the water overflowed and ran 
down the side of the mountain, about one foot 
deep, cold and clear, and full of beautiful speckled 
trout. These fishes congregated in the basin by 
the hundreds, but we failed to attract any to our 
flies, either through the fact that the latter were 
not the right kind, or because of our own clumsi- 
ness. When in need of a mess, we simply used our 
shot guns and fired into the lot, generally secur- 
ing enough in this way. 



120 Sergeant 331 

One morning a punia or mountain lion paid his 
respects to us, at a distance of some two hundred 
yards. As we had no rifle with us, but only shot 
guns, we let him severely alone. He did not 
molest us, nor did we bother him. We were glad 
to see him disappear, not being properly equipped 
to receive him. 

We remained there about two weeks, and I came 
back feeling very much invigorated. I then re- 
smned the work of sketching the different build- 
ings which had been erected — this for the informa- 
tion of the Government in Ottawa. I performed 
this work under the direction of Inspector Perry, 
who was then engineer of the force. 

Fort McLeod was fifty-two miles from the 
Rockies, and the climate there was always delight- 
ful. The Summer heat was moderated usually by 
the early morning wind from the mountains, which 
was always cool and bracing. In the Winter, the 
extreme cold which came for a short space of time 
was always compensated for by the influence of 
the Chinook winds which extend some 150 miles 
East of the Rockies. These are warm winds which 
apparently come over the mountains from the 
Pacific Ocean. Under their influence, a foot of 
snow would melt in an hour's time. For this rea- 
son, that part of the country is used extensively to- 
day for cattle and horse raising — the animals stay- 
ing on the ranges all Winter. 

Like all other large posts. Fort McLeod had its 
guard house, where a mixed population of white 



Sergeant 331 121 

men. half breeds and Indians was confined. A 
sergeant, as usual, was in charge, with a proper 
guard under him. While I was performing this 
duty, one day, an Indian prisoner communicated 
to me the fact that everything was not quite right 
among the prisoners. I reported the matter to the 
commanding officer, with a request for an extra 
guard, for the purpose of searching prisoners and 
cells. 

It was fortunate that I did this, for I found 
that almost every prisoner had something in his 
possession which might have proved very danger- 
ous in a concerted move, and this was evidently 
what was intended. 

Prior to the search, I locked up every one of 
the prisoners. Then, taking them one by one, I 
had them remove all their clothing and put on new 
ones. In one instance, a young fellow known as 
"the kid" had nothing left but his stockings, when 
he remarked: "I suppose you want me to take 
these off." I said "Yes"; and, as he took them 
oif , out dropped a knife all nicked like a saw. 

I found garrotting strings, red pepper, an old 
razor, sharp pointed nails, and other things of the 
same description. Every cell was ransacked and 
every mattress emptied. The offenders were all 
punished by being put on bread and water for a 
period, and a few days later I let my Indian in- 
formant go free. 

It was not long after this, that a former mem- 
ber of the force, a man named Pennock, with 



122 



S erg emit 331 1 



whom I had been stationed at East End Post, 
was brought in a raving maniac. All attempts at 
proper treatment having failed, we were com- 
pelled to send him to Manitoba in a strait- 1 
jacket. Unfortunately, however, he refused all I 
nourishment, and died before even reaching j 
Calgary. ^ 



CHAPTER XVIII 

EARLY in the Spring of 1885 an old Indian 
woman, camped about five miles from Mc- 
Leod, gave the information to some cow- 
boy that she had received news, through Indian 
channels, of a battle which had taken place 'way 
up North the day before, between the Indians 
and the Mounted Police. 

This information was brought in but nothing 
was thought of it, until a courier from Calgary 
arrived with an official dispatch stating that the 
Indians and half-breeds had broken loose at Duck 
Lake, and with a warning to be on the lookout for 
an outbreak among the Blackfeet. The method 
of quick communication among the Indians has 
always remained more or less of a mystery, al- 
though we know that they used smoke and look- 
ing glasses for this purpose. 

There were then about forty men at McLeod, 
and there were about 5,000 Indians around us. 
Plans were at once devised for a defense in case 
of need. Rifle pits were dug around our quarters 

123 



124 Sergeant 331 



and a wire fence put up, which might stop a rush 
en masse. The idea was that in case of alarm 
every man was to throw his gray blanket over this 
fence, and, thus protected, we might be able to 
stand off quite a number of assailants, as an Indian 
will not fire his ammunition unless he can see his 
enemy. Besides, we had our two nine-pounders, 
which we would use to the best advantage. In- 
spector Perry and I were busy several days and 
nights preparing military maps of the neighbor- 
hood, on a large scale. 

One night Sergeant-Major Bradley came to 
the Sergeants' quarters, where he found Sergeant 
Breeden and myself, off duty. He informed us 
that an important dispatch had to go at once to 
Calgary. This meant that the courier would have 
to go through the Indian country, not knowing 
whether these were on the war path or not. For 
this reason he did not like to designate the mes- 
senger. I suggested to Breeden that we toss up a 
penny, which we did. He won the trip, and chose 
his own trooper to carry him — a big, powerful 
horse, which took him safely to his destination. 
Most of the trip was made at night. He covered 
a distance of 110 miles, crossing rivers two or 
three times ; and he did this, I believe, in seventeen 
hours. 

My term of service had now ended. Captain 
Cotton, however, seemed intent upon having me 
remain in the force, and offered to give me a fur- 
lough that would extend fully twelve months. I 



Sergeant 331 125 

stated that I did not wish this, but in view of the 
Indian rebellion I was not going to leave the coun- 
try until the thing was over. After that, how- 
ever, I was going to cut my bridges after me, as 
I had no desire to live any longer away from civili- 
zation, and I certainly had no desire to die away 
from it. 

Daily news came to us through a system of 
mounted couriers between McLeod and Calgary, 
and it was not very long after that that the news 
came of the capture of Riel, the leader of the re- 
bellion. This we considered was the end of all 
trouble, and in time it proved so. 

I then decided to leave for the East. A young 
man, Mr. Paton of Cherbrook, was going East 
also, so we left McLeod together, armed to the 
teeth, as we did not even then feel quite secure in 
regard to the Blackfeet. We traveled in a mail 
coach to Calgary, where we boarded the train. At 
Calgary I met an ex-member of the force named 
Bobby Jones, who entrusted his wife and baby to 
my care, as they were going out of the country for 
safety's sake. I saw them safely to Winnipeg, 
where I parted from them. 

The news of the capture of Riel had traveled 
fast, and I was greatly amused when, on my 
passage through St. Thomas, Ont., some wag 
started the rumor that I was the man who had 
made the capture, and I became the cynosure of 
all eyes while waiting for a train to take me to 
Toronto. A newspaper reporter called on me, 



126 Sergeant 331 



and later presented me with a copy of his news- 
paper, which contained a long interview which 
he claimed to have had with me. Even after I 
boarded my train, I noticed quite a procession of 
people passing through the car, and I found that 
I was the object of their curiosity. My denial 
did not seem to be accepted as bona fide, perhaps 
owing to the fact that my Western accoutrements 
— with pith helmet, knickerbockers, and sun- 
burned complexion which made me appear like a 
boiled lobster — were all against me. In addi- 
tion, I had with me quite a number of Indian relics, 
in the shape of bows and arrows, buckskin gun- 
cover, lariat and other things, which certainly did 
make me look the part. 

The train finally left for Toronto and eventu- 
ally for Montreal, where I found myself again, 
after six years of absence, glad of the interesting 
and wonderful experiences which seldom come to 
a young man between the ages of eighteen and 
twenty-four. I was a hundred times healthier 
than when I left, and I hope wiser, as well. 



AFTER A LAPSE OF THIRTY-SEVEN 
YEARS 



THREE years ago, accompanied by my wife, who was 
born in New York, I decided to take a trip Westward, 
to show my better half the old stamping gromids of 
which I had related so many tales, and to see again for my- 
self the old familiar spots, interesting to me in so many ways. 
We left New York by the Pennsylvania Railroad, and, 
going through Chicago and St. Paul, we soon found ourselves 
in Winnipeg. Here we made a most delightful call on Mrs. 
A. W. Ross at her manor, "La Verendrye," on the Crescent. 
Mrs. Ross, whom we had had the pleasure of meeting at 
Atlantic City a couple of years before, was the widow of a 
former member of Parliament, who, at the time of the build- 
ing of the Canadian Pacific Railway, was their Engineer- 
in-Chief, and who had located Vancouver as their terminal. 
Owing to the fact that we were soon to see that beautiful 
city, Mrs. Ross took particular pride in bringing out an old 
photograph of Vancouver, which showed the first locomotive 
from the East arriving at the place. Plainly to be seen 
in the picture was their son, a boy of about twelve years of 
age at that time, but now a strapping, fine-looking man, who 
shortly after was introduced to us as Major Ross, the Re- 
cruiting Officer in Winnipeg. 



Sergeant 331 



We left Winnipeg for Regina, where I had telegraphed to 
Major Perry, the Commissioner of the police force, of our 
coming. The next morning we arrived at Regina, and pro- 
ceeded to the Mounted Police headquarters, where me met 
Major and Mrs. Perry, with whom I was personally more 
than pleased to shake hands after a lapse of about thirty-one 
years. Major Perry and I being of the same age, I refused 
positively to allow him to call himself an old man. To me, he 
seemed as vigorous as ever^ and Mrs. Perry, although now a 
grandmother^ still looked as charming and pleasant as in the 
days when she took such good care of me. 

We then looked over the beautiful city of Regina, visited 
the Parliament Buildings and admired the pretty lake formed 
by the damming up of old Pile of Bones Creek, the famous 
Waskanna. The view was also relieved by quite a number 
of trees which have been planted or grown since the time 
when I had slept on that same ground, with the nearest shrub- 
bery twenty-five miles away. 

We left Regina for a through run across the prairies and 
the Rocky Mountains direct to Vancouver, where we arrived 
after three days and two nights on the train. We proceeded 
from there to Victoria by steamer. At this place our steamer 
was immediately refilled with volunteers going across the 
seas to the great world war. 

After touring around Victoria, we returned to Vancouver, 
crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a most delightful trip, 
giving us a beautiful view of Mount Baker in the State of 
Washington, 150 miles away. 

We then made a close connection with the Canadian Pacific 
Railwaj' train which was to convey us to Glacier, and there 
made an overnight stop at the foot of Mount Sir Donald, 
10,800 feet in height, overtopping the great glacier. 

The next day we reached Field, at the foot of Mount 
Stevens, 10,500 feet high. From here we took a short excur- 
sion to Lake Emerald, one of the most beautiful spots on 
the earth. On our way back, we noticed a large black bear 



Sergeant 331 

sunning himself on a snow bank. We passed the word to some 
hunter, who secured him ; and I now have the skin, mounted 
as an ornament and souvenir, in my home in New York. 

From Field we went to Banff, and from there to Calgary. 
From Calgary I took a trip to Lethbridge, 110 miles south, 
on purpose to see an old companion of former days, Billy 
Irwin, who is now Clerk of the Court at that place. I found 
him a man of seventy, looking the same to me as if it were 
only a couple of months before that I had left him. Although 
I had not seen him in thirty-five years, he was unchanged. 

From Lethbridge we went westward again to Fort McLeod, 
where I had been so many years before. To my astonish- 
ment, I found it about the only place in all the West which 
had not changed in appearance. All other places, such as 
Regina, Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat and Calgary, have become 
wonderful, clean and pretty cities, but McLeod is still the 
frontier town. We took our only meal at McLeod at a Chi- 
nese restaurant, and found the cuisine about the best we had 
met on our trip. 

We left McLeod at eleven P. M., when there was still some 
slight sign of daylight, and, passing through Moose Jaw, 
went southeast to Minneapolis and Chicago, then to New 
York, where we arrived two minutes ahead of our schedule, 
after a journey of twenty-one days, having covered 6,000 
miles, with but two hours of rain during the entire trip — 
which is, I believe, a record. 



Mail & Express Job Print, 

9-15 Murray Street* 

New York. 



^ 



